The Last of the Dreamwalkers
by AcjmonkeyAJ
Summary: Ash and Scarlet are finally reunited, but Ash's nightmare problem still hasn't been solved. During a lunar eclipse a girl frozen in time in a crystal has finally awakened. Little do they know, that she has ties to the past evens that Sir Aaron faced. Just who is she and why is she here now? What is her secret. Will Ash and Scarlet find out the truth about her?
1. The Girl in the Crystal

The lavender purple colored crystal stood before them and it was starting to crack at the bottom. Scarlet said, "Does she have a name?" Zeraora replied, "Yes, her name is Princess Luna." Everyone had never heard of her, but then the crystal started to glow. Then legendary and mythical pokemon from many other regions came to see the return of Princess Luna. Among them was Arceus the alpha pokemon. Everyone ran to a safe spot to shelter themselves. The crystal continued to crack from the ground up. Then the crystal broke apart and a beam of light shot into the sky. When the light disappeared and the lunar eclipse ended, Princess Luna was lying on the ground seemingly motionless. Arceus thought in its head, _Of course, Luna has been sealed away for years. She may not have any strength the sustain herself. _Everyone believed that Luna was no longer alive, but then out of nowhere a creature flew into the temple. It landed next to Luna and its horn glowed. A yellow aura flowed around its horn. Then a green aura surrounded Luna and she began to move. The creature transformed into a human and everyone was shocked. Ash and the others gathered around and watched as Luna began to get up.

When Luna got up, she opened her eyes revealing them to be a beautiful teal color. She saw the girl next to her, but her gaze quickly fixed on Ash and his friends. The girl supporting Luna saw where she was looking and she said, "Get away! All of you!" Then Luna calmly replied, "Relax sister. They're not here to hurt us." Luna walked forward and stopped in front of Ash and his friends. Ash and Scarlet could feel her power and strength. Luna looked into to the eyes of Ash and Scarlet and saw their past. She saw the day Ash was kidnapped by Team Nova. She also saw the day Scarlet was kidnapped and the fact that Ash was suffering constant nightmares from a poison that spilled on him. Luna spoke, "You two have gone through so much. Yet your bond is strong." Ash nodded and Scarlet commented, "I'm Scarlet and he's my brother Ash. And yes we have been through a lot." Luna continued, "So you're the scarlet phoenix and you're a direct descendant of Sir Aaron." Ash and Scarlet nodded. Luna added, "Well it's nice to finally meet you two." Then everyone introduced themselves and Luna introduced her sister Celestia. Then Luna turned back to Ash and she asked, "So you're having a nightmare problem right?" Ash answered, "Yeah, I am." Serena questioned, "Do you think you can get rid of them?" Luna contended, "Of course I can. I am the Princess of the night after all. But here's the thing, I don't get rid of the nightmares I just simply transform them into good dreams. While the dream itself isn't real, the feelings in the dream are." Ash and the others became confused by what Luna meant by her statement.

Luna said, "Let's see what we can do about these nightmares." Grace replied, "We've set up tents for everyone to sleep in. Also I've provided sleeping bags." Celestia suggested, "All of you better get some sleep." Everyone went to sleep, but Luna stayed awake. She transformed into the same creature Celestia turned into. She began casting a spell that allowed her to enter the dream realm. Her horn had a blue aura flowing around it. Luna entered the dream realm and Ash began having a nightmare. Ash saw members of Team Nova surrounding him. Their pokemon launched attacks that hit him directly and he was severely injured. They were about to attack again, but Luna intervened. Ash couldn't believe his eyes. Luna cast a powerful spell and the Team Nova admins and grunts disappeared. Then Luna cast another spell which transformed the nightmare into a good dream. Ash asked, "Luna is that you? What are you? How did you do that?" Luna laughed, "One question at a time Ash. Yes it's me and this is my alicorn form. An alicorn is a unicorn with the wings of a pegasus. And it's just easy spells. I've been fighting nightmares much worse than yours. You're lucky that the antidote actually helped you." Ash questioned, "So you changed my nightmare to a calm dream using a magic spell? Why is it that easy to get rid of a nightmare?" Luna answered, "Dreams are driven by emotions. Whatever you are feeling will show up in your dreams in many different forms. Nightmares are driven by one emotion which is fear. The more fear you have the worse the nightmare gets. To rid yourself of the nightmare, you must let go of the fear that is causing it. I'm only here to push you in the right direction. It's you who must rid yourself of the fear. Ash began to understand what Luna meant. His fear was causing his nightmare. And if he wanted to get rid of the nightmare he had to let go of his fear. Luna suggested, "Let's go see your friends." Ash looked up at her and she began casting a spell which created a shared dream.

Scarlet, Serena, Gary, and everyone else, except Grace, found themselves wandering in different parts of the shared dream. Then they found themselves meeting each other together as they neared the heart of the dream. Barry said, "Okay what's going on here? Why is everyone here? I'm gonna fine the person behind this." The Celestia chuckled, "You're going to fine my sister?" Everyone turned to her and Scarlet asked, "You mean Luna is doing this?" Celestia replied, "Yes. Luna has the ability to create shared dreams. It seems that she's called all of you to help her quell the fear causing Ash's nightmares." Serena questioned, "Wait fear? You mean Ash is afraid of something? That's not like him." Gary concurred, "Yeah Ash isn't afraid of anything. Why would he be full of fear when there's nothing he should be afraid of?" Celestia answered, "Luna will answer that question, but I looked at Ash and I saw fear in his heart. So that means he is afraid of something, but what he's afraid of will be revealed by Luna herself. To find her, we must enter the heart of this dream. Ash will be with her." Everyone nodded and walked towards the heart of the dream.

Ash and Luna appeared in the dream. Everyone came over to them. Serena hugged Ash and he was taken by surprise. Celestia discussed something Luna and she turned to them. Everyone looked at Luna whom was in a different form. Luna said, "I'm sure you all are aware that I've called you here to help quell Ash's fear." Gary replied, "Yeah we are aware of why you called us, but what I don't understand is why is Ash afraid and what is it that he's so afraid of." Luna responded, "Past traumas are the hardest to let go of." Everyone stared shocked at what Luna said and they watched as she cast a spell show what Ash was afraid of. Scarlet walked up to Luna and asked, "What do you mean by that?" Luna explained, "Both you and Ash have gone through so much. The traumatic memories stay in our hearts because of the feelings we feel when exposed to trauma. Even if we erase these memories from our minds, our hearts still remember the feelings we felt during the traumatic experience. So these feelings makes it hard to let go of these past traumas." Serena questioned, "Is that Team Nova?" Luna answered, "Yes this is Team Nova, but not in the flesh. Or in other words, there not really here." Dawn inquired, "Does that mean that Ash is afraid of Team Nova?" Luna reassured, "Yes he is afraid of them, but it's not them that's causing fear to seep into Ash's dreams. It's their actions from the past that he's allowing to seep into his dreams." Gary argued, "But we defeated Team Nova, so he doesn't need to be afraid of them anymore right?" Luna concurred, "Yes you did defeat Team Nova, but you're not seeing the bigger picture. Ash never let go of the feelings he felt the day they crossed paths." Luna looked over at Ash and saw he had an expression on his that showed her that she was right. Serena embraced him trying to comfort him. Luna stated in order for you to understand let us visit the past and see what happened."

Luna began creating a vision from the past just in one dream and as she did so Scarlet and Ash began preparing for what they were going to see. They were ready to dive into their past. And they were ready to face the fears in their hearts.


	2. The End of the Nightmares

Luna changed the dream and showed the past of Ash and Scarlet to everyone in the dream. Though Ash and Scarlet were nervous about revisiting their past. Luna assured them that this was only to show their friends the source of Ash's fear. Everyone saw a young Ash and Scarlet playing in the backyard of their house. The two of them were running around chasing each other. Both of them were filled with joy and laughter. Scarlet watched this and a tear fell down her face. Ash looked towards his sister and she said, "That's the only good memory I have of that day." Ash hugged his sister and they watched more. Everyone watched Ash and Scarlet chase each other, but then they saw Scarlet fall down a hole. Ash and Scarlet both laughed when they saw that. Luna looked at the two and smiled. Ash replied, "That's still really funny to me." Scarlet responded, "Yeah, but I do remember that the landing was very painful. And the hole wasn't even that deep, but it still hurt." Everyone else started laughing at the flustered young Scarlet scolding the Mr. Mime holding a shovel. Then they all heard young Ash say, "Hey sis let's go see if mom's done with lunch and your birthday cake." Then they heard young Scarlet reply, "Is your mind on anything else other than food big brother?" Scarlet commented, "You haven't changed much since then." Everyone laughed in agreement when Scarlet said that. They continued to watch the events of Scarlet and Ash's past.

Young Ash and Scarlet ran through the door and young Ash said, "Hey mom is lunch ready yet?" Delia laughed and replied, "Almost, I'm just waiting on the cake." Then the cake was done and Delia took it out. She served the two of them lunch and started decorating the cake. The two ate their lunch and were ready to move on to the cake. When the cake was done, Delia brought it in with the candles already lit. Scarlet commented, "We never did eat that cake." Ash responded, "Yeah that's one of the many things I regret about that day." Dawn asked, "Why do you say that Ash?" Ash answered, "Just watch." They watched as the Team Nova admin made her appearance. Delia had gone up and asked questions to the admin while standing in front of her children. Then after a few questions, the admin stepped to the side. Scarlet turned her head towards Ash and he put his arm around her. Delia was hit by a hyper beam and she went through the back wall of the house. The young Ash and Scarlet stared shocked at the back of their house. Gary and the other's were also shocked. Paul walked up to Ash and Scarlet. He placed his hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash looked at Paul and he said, "I'm sorry you two had to go through that." Ash nodded his gratitude and continued watching. Then they saw young Ash and Scarlet had separated from their embrace and had moved out of the way. The admin began approaching young Scarlet. Young Ash ran over to protect Scarlet. When he was in front of his sister, he found himself in the admin's custody because the admin had grabbed him by the arm. The admin began to drag him out of the house. Young Scarlet began screaming her brother's name and began to run after them. Everyone saw Ash's reaction to young Scarlet screaming his name. Gary also walked up to Ash. Ash explained, "Scarlet screaming my name still bothers me to this day." Scarlet said, "I'm sorry about that. But honestly, that was the only thing I think of." Gary added, "And what would you expect? You where kidnapped by an evil organization. It's only natural for her to do that." They continued to watch and they saw young Scarlet collapse in the field and start crying. Then Mewtwo came to her.

Ash said, "You let Mewtwo erase you memories of me?" Scarlet replied, "It was to keep me from being reckless and going after you. Besides I was still seven years from becoming a trainer." Luna interrupted, "Though you may have erased the memories of that day, you never forgot the feeling you felt that day. And it was those feelings that led you back to this field. But letting out your emotions allowed you to release your fear. So that's why you don't have Ash's nightmare problem." Then Luna changed the vision. She continued, "Now that we've seen the first part of the trauma it's time for me to show the second part of the trauma. And this will be from Ash's time in Team Nova's custody." Ash got nervous about revisiting his days of captivity. Luna showed the vision and Scarlet and Serena both held Ash's hand to help him relax. Luna noticed Ash's behavior and knew that the dream would be affected by it. They watched as young Ash was placed in large room. Calem's father came in and demanded him to do as he was told. The grunts and admins came in with their pokemon drawn. Young Ash refused and was attacked before he could react. Calem's father continued to try to force Ash into doing what he said. Young Ash used his powers to defend himself, but he couldn't keep it up for long. Then Team Nova had their pokemon surround young Ash and then attack at the same time. Young Ash was backed into a corner. The pokemon launched their attacks. Luna stopped the vision at the last second before the attack hit. And she said, "There that's the source of Ash's fear of Team Nova." Everyone couldn't believe what they were seeing. Paul was furious with Team Nova and he even showed it, but before he could express his anger. The dream began to change.

The vision disappeared and a dream version of Calem's father appeared along with the admins and grunts. They had their pokemon drawn. Everyone saw that Ash was afraid of someone forcing him to do something he doesn't want to in the same way Team Nova did. They all gathered around him to show him that they were there for him. Ash was beginning to let go of his fear, but Calem's father had the pokemon attack. Luna got in front of them. She began preparing to use a powerful spell. As the attacks drew closer, everyone began to worry about the attacks hitting Luna. Then Luna reared on her on her hind legs and then she slammed her hooves down. Then she cast the spell. The spell almost overpowered the attacks, but Luna began to struggle to hold them off. She telepathically said to Ash, "Ash, you must face your fears! And soon I can't hold off this combo attack forever! The fear within the nightmare is too strong for me to handle! If you face your fears the nightmares will weaken and I'll be able to fix the dream!" Ash looked at Calem's father, the admins and grunts, and the pokemon. He started to become determined to defeat this nightmare once and for all. He turned to Pikachu whom was on his shoulder. Both he and Pikachu nodded to each other. He ran forward to assist Luna. He shouted, "Pikachu, use Thunder bolt!" Pikachu let out a powerful electric attack. The thunder bolt collided with the combo attack and Luna's spell and completely overpowered the attack. Ash had completely let go of his fears and the nightmare began to weaken. Luna flew up and she used her alicorn magic to transform the dream back to the way it was.

Then after everything was back to normal Luna turned to Ash and said, "Well done Ash! That thunder bolt had a lot of meaning and power in it. Now these nightmares won't come back, but visions are another story." Paul then explained, "I can't believe Team Nova would go as far as forcing a kid to do as they say by inflicting pain on them. I'm mean how cruel can they get?" Luna commented, "Paul you haven't seen anything yet." Then Luna continued, "Let's finish this discussion when you wake up." Luna cast a spell that would wake the kids up. But Luna knew they would need to be ready for a danger that concerned her own survival. Luna needed to prepared them for the journey a head.


	3. A Life Changing Past

Once the kids woke up, they walked out to see an exhausted Luna walking up to them. Everyone was confused on why Luna seemed so tired. Then Celestia came up and said, "I'll bet you're wondering why Luna is a little out of it. Well it's because her responsibilities in the dream realm makes her stay up all night." Everyone watched Luna walk forward after a few minutes. She seemed to be perfectly fine now. Luna said, "Well Ash, you're good to go. If any of you are experiencing nightmares rest assured I'll be there to help." Everyone was relieved to see Luna back to her old self, but then they became shocked when Arceus came forward.

Luna turned around and saw Arceus and it said to her telepathically, "Princess Luna on behalf of all the legendary and mythical pokemon here, I'd like to personally welcome you back into our world. Everyone of us has missed you and needed you since you've been gone." Luna flew up to Arceus until she was at its eye level and she moved closer to it and she placed her head on Arceus' head and she replied, "Thank you Arceus and I'm sorry I was gone for so long, but what choice did I have? It was either that or let the world face destruction." Xerneas came up and added, "We all understand why you had to leave us for awhile. It's not your fault. You made the right decision during that time. You saved us Luna. And most importantly, you saved them." Ash walked up and asked, "Luna what's going on?" Arceus exclaimed, "Well if it isn't the descendant of Sir Aaron. You and your sister are doing a great job protecting Kalos." Xerneas agreed, "Yes you and Scarlet have done an excellent job protecting Kalos during Luna's absence." Squishy answered, "Before Luna was frozen in time, she cast a spell to make every human forget that she existed so she could remain that way until she returned. Before the spell was in full affect, gym leader Olympia received a prophecy of Luna's return. The prophecy stated that you would activate the defense mechanism a second time and a lunar eclipse would set Luna free." Ash and Scarlet looked at each other then Scarlet questioned, "Why were you frozen in time Luna?" Luna responded, "Well a group of evil people attempted to destroy the world. Sir Aaron tried to help me out my situation, but there wasn't another way out except to seal myself away. So I had Sir Aaron activate the defense mechanism and I had him use it on me. Every legendary and mythical pokemon except for Cresselia watched as I cast the memory spell and was in cased in the crystal. Though the humans forgot that I existed, the pokemon didn't. They waited for me to return and now I have."

Serena and the others were shocked and Scarlet exclaimed, "You knew Sir Aaron?!" Luna nodded, "Yeah I did." Ash explained, "Luna and Sir Aaron were close friends at the time." Scarlet said, "Does that mean that in every challenge that Sir Aaron faced you were there?" Luna answered, "Yes I was there. And the reason your book doesn't mention me is because the author wrote it after I cast the memory spell so he didn't remember me." Gary commented, "I've always found the legends absurd because I didn't think one person could do all of those things." Luna replied, "You're right Gary, Sir Aaron couldn't face those incidents alone. I was there to help him." Scarlet responded, "I can't believe this. How can this be possible?" Celestia suggested, "Perhaps you should tell them your story sister. It might help them to understand this better." Luna became silent and Ash noticed that she seemed to not want to tell them about her past yet. Celestia communicated with Luna telepathically saying that she would have to tell them sooner or later. Luna then agreed to tell them her story. She created a visual and showed them her past. Luna explained, "A long time ago, I lived in the dreamwalker civilization and I ruled over it with my parents. I was young and learning ropes so I could become queen, but my decisions weren't always the best and that usually cost me. My father was angry at my decision making and always said that I would never be able to fill my mother's shoes, but my mother always shot down his remarks and she told me that not all my decisions would be correct. She also said that if my decisions caused problems, I would quickly jump in to fix it and keep pressing forward. And well, she was right. But then selfish humans came to our temple and my parents sacrificed themselves to save me. Though my father was harsh, he still loved me and on that day I lost my trust in humans." Everyone gasped and Serena whispered to Ash, "No wonder she was hesitant to speak about this." Paul questioned, "If you didn't trust humans then, why do you trust us now?" Celestia answered, "Let's just say that someone in Ash's family managed to change her mind." Luna nodded and continued, "Many years passed and there were many incidents happening in Kalos. I went to stop them. Even though I didn't trust humans, I still protected them when evil people were causing harm to them. But one incident in particular was very interesting for me. I went out to stop an evil force from attacking the civilians of Lumiose Town when all of a sudden a Lucario fell on top of me. After we recovered from the fall, I asked the Lucario how it ended up in the sky and it explained to me that its master was captured by selfish humans for his powers. I was shocked when I heard this and I couldn't help but ask myself about how cold could humans get. Lucario seemed to figure out that I didn't trust humans and it even asked me about it. I explained to Lucario about my parents and it told me that there are some humans out there who are like that, but most humans are kind, selfless, and caring. I was surprised by this statement and I started to wonder if that was true. Then Lucario and I went looking for its master and we arrived in Lumiose Town. We saw the people that had captured Lucario's master were already attacking the town. I was even more shocked to see that they were using and ancient relic that I hid years ago. I will never know how they found it, but it didn't matter because I had to stop them. I saw Lucario's master bound in chains and suspended within the energy field caused by this relic. I didn't know how to approach the situation because the relic they were using acted like a magnet and would pull any energy sources towards it. I then realized that it could only pull energy sources one at a time. The relic had to finish absorbing the energy first. So I transformed into my alicorn form and flew towards them. Then I flew myself into the energy field and the relic stopped absorbing energy from Lucario's master. Then I freed him and used a teleportation spell to bring him safely back down to Lucario. Then the relic began releasing the energy it stored and it fired the energy. I watched a human save a little girl from bring crushed and humans working together to dig out a human that hand been buried in rubble. I saw the true nature of humans for the first time, but I still had trouble believing that it was true. Lucario's master introduced himself as Sir Aaron and he thanked me for saving him, but I told him that it wasn't the time for introductions. Sir Aaron's captors turned around to attempt to get him back. The energy from the relic fired and was heading my way. But then to my surprise, Sir Aaron jumped and pushed me out of the way of the energy. I was shocked by his selfless deed and I watched him continue further. Sir Aaron used the aura he had left to stop his captors once and for all."

Scarlet exclaimed, "I remember this from the first chapter of the legend of Sir Aaron. It said that Sir Aaron gave up the last of his aura to save the people of Lumiose Town and nearly faded out of existence until a mysterious force revived him. And we have reason to believe that it was Lucario." Luna continued, "Yes Sir Aaron did nearly fade away, but it wasn't Lucario who saved him. It was me. When he sacrificed himself to save Lumiose Town from further damage, his actions managed to reach out and touch my heart. I finally believed that humans were capable to coexist peacefully without giving into selfishness. Before Sir Aaron began to fade away, I used the relic to restore the aura he lost. In fact, I fused the relic with Sir Aaron. Once he was revived, I moved onto the civilians. I gave them healing potions made by the dreamwalker healers. Then I introduced myself to Sir Aaron and thanked him for his assistance in the fight. And from then on the two of us worked together from then on. I helped him stop the Scarlet Phoenix from burning up the entire Kalos region, I helped him to summon Cresselia, and I helped to save people and pokemon from the nightmares created by Darkrai. I was there during all of his challenges. And if Sir Aaron hadn't saved me back then, he and I wouldn't have been able to work together because I would've been really angry with humanity." Everyone now knew Luna's story and Scarlet now believed that Luna was there when Sir Aaron performed his heroic deeds. Ash and Scarlet were proud that they had a heroic ancestor to remember and someone to fight by their side in case trouble was near. Ash and Scarlet knew that new enemies would come forward from the shadows and threaten to take their powers, but with Luna by their side there was nothing they couldn't do. They knew they'd be ready to face any enemy that came their way.


	4. The Castle of Dreams

Then Grace took the kids home and Delia welcomed Scarlet back and expressed how happy she was to see that she was safe. Luna went back to her temple to rest up until nightfall. When the sun was setting, Luna raised the moon. But before Luna could enter the dream realm, she received a vision and a prophecy. She flew to the moon and entered her castle of dreams. She looked into a pool of water that was clear as a crystal. She got a good look of the vision. The vision showed Ash and Scarlet fighting darkness together, but the darkness was winning and they were getting overwhelmed by its power. Luna then read the prophecy out loud to herself, _"__When darkness rises, The moon shall fall; __Even if the heroes who wish to save her rise, the darkness will deliver pain for all; __But before the moon is held hostage, hope is born. A new moon rises to be the heir of the full moon. She will have extraordinary powers. Though she will be named under her family ties, her powers are the strength to cut clean through the darkness's lies; The heir shall forge the darkness's grave, and the moon she shall save; _

Luna was shocked by this prophecy, but then the pool of water alerted her of something happening in the dream realm. Luna went into the dream realm and saw Ash and Scarlet were having a shared vision. Luna went into their dreams and she watched their version of the vision she saw. Scarlet and Ash were watching themselves fighting a darkness they had never seen before along side Princess Celestia. Ash and Scarlet continued watching themselves fight, but then they saw Luna bound in chains and they realized that they were trying to rescue her. As they fought the darkness delivered the final blow and it knocked Ash out completely. Scarlet and Celestia grabbed him and retreated. Then the vision cut to a new scene. Ash, Scarlet, and Celestia were battling the darkness again, but the outcome was still going to be the same. All of a sudden, a white blur appeared and it landed in front of them. It was revealed to be an alicorn and on her hind quarters there was a picture of a black moon with a black star next to it. The final blow was about to hit until she put up a barrier. When the attack hit the barrier, it didn't even crack. The darkness became human and Luna saw that Sombra was the darkness the prophecy was referring to. The white alicorn pierced through him with her alicorn magic and ended his reign of terror. Then the white alicorn freed Luna and transformed into her human form. She was a girl with white hair and sapphire blue eyes. They saw she was similar to Luna. Then the vision ended and it became a shared dream.

Luna walked towards Ash and Scarlet. It was obvious that they were confused by the vision and what it meant. Luna said, "In all of my years of battling dreams, I've never witnessed a shared vision." Ash and Scarlet turned around to see Luna had come to see them in their dreams. Scarlet questioned, "This was a vision?!" Luna answered, "Yes and I know this because I've seen a similar vision. There's also a prophecy to go a long with it." Both Ash and Scarlet were shocked and Ash asked, "What's the prophecy?!" Luna suggested, "Why don't we talk in a place that's more secret." Luna opened up a portal that was near the moon and she gestured for them to follow her. Ash commented, "But we can't fly like you do." Luna replied, "Perhaps you've forgotten that this is a dream. You can do anything in your dreams." They all flew towards the portal. When they flew into to it, they arrived at the moon. Ash and Scarlet saw a large castle and they were awestruck. Then Luna opened the doors and they walked into the center of the castle. They arrived at the pool of water at the center of the castle. Luna began stirring up the water of the pool and she explained, "Before I came to the dream realm, I received a vision and this prophecy." Scarlet inquired, "What does the prophecy mean?" Luna continued, "Well it means that one of my old foes is gaining power and will return some time in the future, but I will be powerless against him and fall to his dark powers. My foe's name is Sombra and he's as evil as they come. According to the prophecy once I've fallen, I'll be taken captive by Sombra." Ash and Scarlet were shocked by this and didn't know what to think of this information.

Ash said, "Isn't there something we can do to change this?" Luna replied, "No there isn't. There's no way to change what is to come. But I don't really want to change this fate." Scarlet was confused and asked, "Why wouldn't you want to change your fate?" Luna smiled and answered, "Because the prophecy states that I'll give birth to an heir right before Sombra takes me prisoner." Scarlet and Ash then made the connection. Though their future selves seemed to know the girl with white hair, the truth to matter was that they didn't know her. They had never seen a girl with white hair. Scarlet exclaimed, "That girl with white hair! Is she the heir you'll have in the future?!" Luna nodded and responded with a smile, "Yes that girl is the heir I'll have in the future. The prophecy says that she'll have extraordinary powers and after viewing the vision you two received I now know that she will have the power of 'White Magic'." Ash inquired, "'White magic' what's that?" Luna explained, "Well first let me tell you this, the last time I face Sombra Sir Aaron and I combined our powers to contain him and seal him away from the world. Now that we have confirmation that he'll be returning in the future, Sombra will be even more powerful than the last time I faced him. Sombra will have possibly achieved the full power of Black Magic. Black Magic is more powerful than my own and it's the source of all darkness in this world. The only thing powerful enough to rival Black Magic is White Magic. The source of all pure light in this world. White Magic is in everything, which includes Black Magic. In fact Black Magic is a corrupted form of White Magic. White Magic can purify anything from poisoned potions to Black Magic itself. But it's very rare and only one person ever received its power. The Master of White Magic was the only capable of using that kind of power, but he has grown too old to fight Sombra. So my heir will wield its power." Ash and Scarlet now understanding the terms of White Magic and Black Magic, they were less worried about Luna being held captive.

Scarlet asked, "So what's her name going to be Luna?" Luna replied, "Well she'll be named after the moon, so Yue should fit her nicely." Ash and Scarlet began getting a strange feeling. The felt like someone was shaking them. Luna said, "Looks like it's time for me to take you back." Scarlet became sad that they had to leave the castle. Luna continued, "I'll come to see you in your dreams if there's any updates or visions concerning you two or the prophecy. And you'll always be welcome here at my castle of dreams." Ash, Scarlet, and Luna walked out and Luna opened the portal to take them back. They went through the portal where they heard Serena's and Delia's voices calling out to them. They were begging them to wake up. Scarlet questioned, "What's going on? Do they think we're dead or something?" Luna chuckled, "Well there might be some truth to that, but no they don't think you're dead." Ash commented, "Then why are they begging us to wake up?" Luna answered, "Well when we went to my castle of dreams, your souls crossed into the waking world and it left you guys in a comatose state. But you won't have to worry once I cast the spell to leave the dream realm, you two will wake up naturally as if you were waking up from a deep sleep." Scarlet responded, "Thank you Luna, see you again soon!" Once they finished saying their goodbyes, Luna cast the spell and she left the dream realm and Ash and Scarlet woke up normally.

Both Serena and Delia scolded them for making them worry. Ash said, "We didn't mean to make you guys worried honest, but Luna had to tell us something important." Serena replied, "Luna was there?" Scarlet responded, "Yeah, Ash and I had a shared vision and Luna gave us the interpretation for it. She also told us about a prophecy, so she asked us to follow her to the moon." Delia exclaimed, "The moon?! Why would she want to take you there?!" Ash continued, "Well on the moon Luna has a castle. The 'Castle of Dreams' and from there she can enter dream realm. She received and vision and a prophecy to go with it." Scarlet concurred, "Yeah the castle was amazing. It glowed and shimmered like diamonds and the water from her pool of dreams was as clear as crystals. It was so beautiful. But when we went there our souls crossed over into the waking world and we went into a comatose state." Serena commented, "So that's why we couldn't wake you up. Anyway since Luna was involved I'll let it slide and if this does happen again I won't be mad. I know that Luna will bring you back safe and sound." Delia agreed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Serena. But please you two try to be careful in your dreams." Ash nodded, "We will." Ash and Scarlet knew that they would have to prepare for what was to come and they knew that it wasn't going to be easy. They didn't know when Sombra was coming, so that made it difficult. But they weren't going to slack off they were going to be ready for Sombra's return no matter how long it takes.


	5. Lost Memories

Ash and Scarlet continued going to school with Serena everyday. Ash also recently caught more pokemon. He had a Charmander and a Froakie. Everyday he and the other boys would train with them. Paul had a deep respect for Ash and made it his personal goal to make sure that he and family weren't separated by evil organizations. Scarlet never really trained with Eevee as she didn't want to push the pokemon too hard. She also didn't really like to battle unless she had to. Gary asked her if she and him wanted to battle with Mewtwo, but Scarlet turned down the offer. Everyone in the gym was a little surprised that Scarlet turned down a chance to battle, but Ash knew why she was doing it though. He knew his sister didn't like to battle. Then Trip and his gang of bullies walked up. Trip teased, "Well it seems our favorite red-headed girl is a coward." Ash looked at Trip with anger, but Scarlet didn't seem too bothered by Trip's words. Ash noticed that her facial expression didn't seem to change at all. He walked up to his sister and sat down next to her. Trip noticed that Scarlet was UN-phased by his words. It was like she didn't care that he called her a 'coward'. Gary asked, "Why did you turn down my challenge?" Scarlet replied, "I don't have anything against battles nor am I afraid of them, but pokemon battles aren't really my style. I don't like seeing my pokemon get hurt, so I'm not really into that sort of thing." Trip was shocked by Scarlet's words. She defended herself just by saying that pokemon battles weren't her style. Gary questioned, "But then how come I've seen you battle before?" She answered, "I'll only battle when it's necessary. Like for self-defense, or saving my brother from an evil organization that desires to destroy the world. Besides the only reason that you want to battle me is because you want to ask me out on a date afterwards." Gary fliched which only proved that Scarlet's last sentence to be true. Ash and everyone in the gym started laughing except Gary. Scarlet's story about turning down Gary's challenge spread throughout the whole school in one day.

The next day Scarlet and Serena were walking through the hallways. Scarlet was telling Serena about the how she turned down Gary's challenge. Serena burst with laughter when she heard the part when she told Gary that she knew that he wanted to ask her out. Serena said, "You can read Gary like a book can't you?" Scarlet replied, "Oh yeah, I will always know what he's thinking." Then Scarlet went off somewhere to do something and asked Serena to wait for her. Meanwhile, the popular girls began walking over to Serena. They had been waiting for their chance to bully her. When Scarlet left, they made their move. There was no one else in the hallway and no one to go and get help. Serena began to scream as the bullying began. Scarlet heard Serena screaming and she was about to go and see what was going on, but then a mysterious person came up behind her and hit her in the head. She hit her head on something sharp and was nearly knocked unconscious. Right before she lost consciousness, she pulled out Eevee's pokeball. She explained, "Eevee go help Serena for as long as you can. I have a feeling my brother will show up soon." Eevee did as her trainer said and went to help Serena. Meanwhile, Pikachu heard Serena screaming and started running out of the gym. Ash saw Pikachu was leaving and he called, "Pikachu?!" He ran after Pikachu with others and Trip and his gang in tow. Eevee managed to get to Serena and she started to attack the bullies to keep them away from Serena. Then Pikachu, Ash, his friends, and Trip and his gang arrived only to be shocked at what they were seeing. Serena covered in Scars and bruises. Ash ran in and held Serena in his arms. Serena looked into Ash's eyes before she lost consciousness. Ash stared at the girls angrily and he was about to snap but Gary stopped him. Gary explained, "Let's take care of Serena first." Miette felt bad about bullying Serena, but she saw a mysterious figure come out of the hallway Scarlet went down. She got worried about Scarlet. Miette walked up to Ash and explained to him that she wasn't really part of the popular girls group. She told him that she saw someone she didn't recognize walk out of the hallway Scarlet went down.

Ash grew concerned and told Miette to go with Gary and the others to the nurse's office and He'd go see if Scarlet was okay. Miette nodded and they split up. Ash followed Scarlet's Eevee and he found her on the ground unconscious. Ash gasped when he saw her condition. He picked her up and ran her to the nurse's office. Ash began thinking,_ Hang on sis. I'll make sure you get the help you need and soon!_ Ash arrived minutes later after Nurse Joy finished treating Serena. Nurse Joy saw Scarlet and she gasped, "Oh my! You need to call an ambulance right now!" Everyone saw how bad Scarlet was and they were worried about her. An ambulance came and took Ash and Scarlet to the hospital. Ash waited outside the emergency room waiting for any news about his sister. When the others arrived, the doctor came out and said, "Your sister will be fine. We stitched her wounds so they'll heal up. Scarlet is awake now and she's healing much faster than normal. She told us about her healing powers, so she should be feeling better in about a week." Ash let out a relieved sigh. Then he asked, "May we see her?" The doctor answered, "Of course you all can go see her. But I must ask how did she manage to hurt herself so badly?" Ash replied, "In all honesty, I have no idea." Then Miette explained, "I saw some kind of mysterious person come out of the hallway she walked down. Maybe the person caused Scarlet's injuries." They all shrugged and decided to go see Scarlet.

Scarlet was lying in the hospital bed when Ash and the others came into her room. Scarlet looked at them, but she didn't seem to know who they were. Ash felt that something was wrong and began to fear the worst. Ash gulped and said, "Scarlet how are you feeling?" Scarlet replied, "Who are you?" Ash's worst fears came true Scarlet didn't remember him. Tears streamed down his face. Serena pulled him into an embrace. Ash couldn't believe that his sister had amnesia. Deep in Scarlet's mind, her lost memories took a human form that resembled a young Scarlet. She was chained in the deepest parts of her mind. She saw through the eyes of her human self. She said, "Brother why are you crying? Is it because that you think that you've lost me?" Then outside of Scarlet's mind Luna appeared in the hospital. Ash looked up to see Luna had come to help. Ash explained to Luna what happened and Luna said, "Hmm… I wonder…?" Luna examined Scarlet and found traces of Sombra's power around her. Luna continued, "Just as I thought." Ash asked, "Is that what I think it is?" Luna answered, "Yep, this is his doing. Luckily, this is easy to undo. All you and I have to do is travel into her mind and bring back the lost memories." Ash exclaimed, "Then let's do it!"

Luna transformed into an alicorn and she began casting a sleeping spell on Scarlet. Then she cast the spell to allow her and Ash to travel into Scarlet's mind. When they arrived, Luna and Ash looked around. Luna said, "Hop on Ash, we have a lot of ground to cover." Ash climbed onto her back and they flew through Scarlet's mind. They reached the deepest parts of her mind. They walked the rest of the way and then they saw a young Scarlet chained down within the deepest corners of her mind. The young Scarlet looked up at them. Luna cast a spell to check for any nearby enemies. She found multiple shadows waiting to attack. Luna got defensive and Ash asked, "What's wrong?" Luna answered, "Ash in the next few minutes, do exactly what I say." Ash nodded getting ready for anything. Luna explained, "Okay start walking towards Scarlet." Ash started to walk towards Scarlet. Then the shadows appeared and the started to attack Ash. Luna began defending Ash by blasting the shadows with her alicorn magic. Ash managed to get to Scarlet, but didn't know how to free her. Luna also didn't know how to free her.

Scarlet stopped time and said, "Brother, why were you crying?" Ash answered, "Because my fear of you losing your memory came true." Scarlet continued, "Why are you afraid of losing me when you spent the first five years of your life without me? Ash replied, "You weren't born then, but when you were born nine months later I couldn't have been happier to have a sister. I wanted to do everything I could to help mom raise you, but then I get separated from for seven years. Even though I had Pikachu, I still missed you and mom. I was so lonely that I almost forgot you Scarlet." The young Scarlet smiled then questioned, "I've erased my memory before and you were okay with it, so why is me losing memory scaring you?" Ash contended, "That was different. You were stopping yourself from coming after me. This time you got hurt and lost your memory. And it scares because there's a chance you might not remember me again. I don't like to see you get hurt. All I want is to see you safe and sound." Scarlet had a big smile on her face. She was proud to have a such a caring brother. Then she responded, "Thank you Ash, it's nice to know how much you love and care for me. But try to imagine a life where I didn't exist. Would you still feel the same? Answer me truthfully." Ash thought it over and he said, "I guess I wouldn't." Scarlet replied, "Exactly, how can you love someone that doesn't exist? Ash, you know we aren't always going to be there for each other. One of these days, we will strike out on our own. But that will never change the fact that we'll always remain brother and sister. Nothing and no one can change that. There will be times where I have to solve my own problems and the same with you, but if there's a problem that we can't solve on our own we can always turn to each other and solve them together. But you're going to have to learn to accept the fact that we won't always be with each other. I know you want to give me a good life and make up for the seven years that we were apart, but I'm ten years old now and I'm old enough to look after myself." Ash came to the realization and he communicated, "You're right Scarlet. I need to stop trying to always be there for you. I've done it so much that it's become unnecessary. I need to accept that you are old enough to make your own decisions and that we won't always be together. And I can't make up for the time we lost together. I need to stop and start living my own life." Scarlet explained, "Just because I may not need you to watch over me anymore, doesn't mean I don't appreciate your help. It also doesn't mean that you should stop caring. I'm grateful to have a brother like you."

After that, time resumed and the chains disappeared. Luna finished off the shadows and flew towards Ash. They hopped on Luna and they returned to the real world. Scarlet's memories returned and now she was almost back to normal. Luna left, but before telling Ash and Scarlet that she needed to discuss something with them. Ash and Scarlet wondered what Luna wanted to talk to them about, but they knew that only time would tell. So they needed to be ready to hear what she had to say.


	6. Visions and Shadows

Scarlet recovered very quickly. The doctors released her from the hospital and she went home. Ash was thrilled that his sister was home, but then came a serious tension between the two. They remembered Luna needed to talk to them. And they both were nervous about what she had to say. Serena, Grace, and Delia were wondering why the two were so tense, but they didn't ask. That night they went to bed early without a word. Serena opened the door to Scarlet's room and she saw Luna. Luna saw Serena and she said, "Nice to see you again Serena." Serena replied, "Like wise Luna, but what are you doing here." Luna responded, "I'm casting a spell around Ash and Scarlet to protect them. Shadows are on the loose and there's a good chance that they'll come here. I want to make sure their bodies are unharmed when they wake up tomorrow." Serena nodded in understanding and she said, "Well I hope you guys have a good talk." Serena headed off to bed after Luna finished casting the spells. Then Luna came into Serena's room. She cast the same spell around her. Luna didn't tell her that she was also needed to come into the conversation.

After Luna finished casting her spells, she went back to the temple. Then she entered the dream realm. She created a shared dream for Ash and Scarlet. Luna entered the dream and Ash and Scarlet looked up to see her come in. Luna said, "Welcome you two. I'm sure that you're aware that I need to talk to you." Ash and Scarlet nodded. Luna continued, "Well I'm going to have to bring a third person into this conversation. And she's involved in the prophecy as well." Ash and Scarlet were shocked. There was another person involved in the prophecy. Then Luna cast a spell and linked Serena's dream with the shared dream. Ash and Scarlet stood shocked as Serena wandered into view. Ash turned to Luna and asked, "You're not serious are you?" Luna answered, "I hate to say this, but I am serious." Serena questioned, "What am I doing here?" Luna contended, "I linked your dream to this shared dream."

Serena said, "So why did you bring me hear? I thought you only needed to talk to Ash and Scarlet." Luna replied, "That's what I thought too, but I received a shocking vision just yesterday. And well, you'll have to see for yourself." Luna cast a spell towards the moon and a portal opened. Ash, Serena, and Scarlet followed Luna to the moon. They arrived at the castle of dreams and Serena was completely blown away by its beauty. They made their way to the pool of water in the center of the castle. Luna explained, "So Serena let me explain what happened the last time I spoke to Ash and Scarlet. So I received a prophecy and a vision that explains that a former enemy of mine is going to return and I will not have the strength to stop him this time. My former enemy's name is Sombra. And once I've fallen to him, I'll be taken prisoner by him." Serena gasped, "What?! Why?!" Luna continued, "I'm not really sure, but before any of this even happens, somewhere along the way I'll give birth to an heir. And it's my heir who will save me from Sombra." Serena was more at ease now.

Luna then began stirring up the water in the pool and Luna said, "Now, I've recently received two visions. One of these visions, I had to go and talk to gym leader Olympia in Anistar city. It concerned a crisis that will be coming to Kalos. Olympia had a similar vision, but it wasn't as detailed as mine." Scarlet asked, "Can you show us the vision?" Luna answered, "Y-yes, but I must warn you that you're not going to like what you see. On the other hand, I'm aware that this crisis is going to set the stage for Sombra's return." Luna showed them the vision. They saw Lumiose city being destroyed by vines. Then the vision showed a man with bright orange hair that looked a lot like a flame from a fire. Scarlet looked at Luna and saw her eyes turn yellow and her teeth grew into fangs. Luna made a growling sound that Scarlet never heard before, but she paid little attention to it and continued to watch the vision. Then Ash, Serena, and Scarlet all gasped in unison when they saw the next part of the vision. They saw Ash and a full team of pokemon were bound by restraints and being held at the top of Prism Tower. Then they saw a weak and exhausted Luna fall into the arms of a trainer with black hair and black jacket. Luna knew this trainer as Alain as she had passed through one of his dreams before. Then the vision cut to scene that made everyone completely fearful. Ash was being hit directly by a red beam of energy. And they all could tell that Ash was in pain. Scarlet and Serena both hugged Ash. Ash returned the embrace. Luna swung her hand and splashed the water making the vision go away. She then walked up to them and embraced them. Ash looked up at Luna and he could tell that she regretted showing them the vision.

After they broke their hug, Luna said, "I'm sorry you all had to see that. I told you that you weren't going to like what you saw." Ash replied, "It's okay Luna. There was some good things about the vision. Although this makes me kind of nervous to catch more pokemon now." Luna responded, "Even if you catch more pokemon, that won't guarantee that the events happening in the vision will happen right away. It also doesn't mean that it won't happen any later either. That's the problem with visions. You never know when these events are going to happen, but I will keep an eye out for signs of this event." Ash and the others nodded. Then Luna asked, "So do you guys want to see the second vision that explains why Serena is here, or have you guys had enough for tonight?" Ash answered, "I think we should see the vision. I'm curious on why Serena is involved in this." Luna nodded and stirred up the water again. They watched as Ash, Scarlet, and Celestia were fighting Sombra. Then they watched Sombra deliver the final blow. Ash got the worst of it do to the fact that he tried to protect Scarlet and Celestia. Ash was knocked unconscious and became motionless. Celestia and Scarlet, who only received minor injuries, grabbed Ash and took him to a safe place. Then Celestia and Scarlet lied Ash carefully on the couch in Serena's house. They saw Serena run up to see what happened. Serena placed her hands on Ash's heart and his forehead. They all watched shocked to see that Serena had healing abilities. Ash questioned, "Serena has healing abilities?!" Luna contended, "Yes she actually does have healing powers, but they haven't awakened yet."

Ash and the others were shocked by this information and Serena said, "How is this possible?!" Luna replied, "Well it actually has to do with your ancestry and heritage, Serena." Ash, Serena, and Scarlet were confuse but then Luna stirred up the water and began to show them Serena's ancestry. They saw a group of women surrounded by many plants in jars. Luna explained, "These are the Dreamwalker healers. They can heal anything with their strong potions and remedies. The leader of the healers wears a special medallion that helps them with their healing powers. Unlike the rest of the Dreamwalkers, the healers don't battle at all and they almost never enter the dream realm. Serena, you are a descendant of the Dreamwalker healers." Ash and the others began slowly understanding why Serena had healing abilities. Scarlet asked, "So what's the meaning behind my healing abilities and what are my limits?" Luna answered, "Well because of the fact that you're the scarlet phoenix that you have healing abilities. Your powers are limited to comas and concussions. You can heal scars, bruises, and other wounds as long as they aren't fatal injuries. Unfortunately, you can't heal fatal injuries on other people, but you can heal yourself if you have fatal injuries. Other than that, that's how far your powers go." Ash inquired, "So what exactly happened to me in the vision that required Serena's input?" Luna contended, "Well you saw the aura shield right? Well that is created by the pendant of the aura guardian, but there are dangers when using this ability. The shield is made from a large portion or your aura, Ash. So when something attacks the shield, you lose some of your aura and that effects you in a harmful way. You feel pain whenever the shield takes a direct hit. When Sombra attacked, you lost the whole portion of your aura that makes the shield all at once. This left you with very little aura to keep alive. Scarlet's powers can't return it, but Serena's healing powers can return the aura you lost. All she needs is the medallion."

Scarlet began thinking on this and she concluded, "So the healer's medallion acts as the balance for the pendant of the aura guardian. It reverses the effects of the aura shield to help the user of the pendant survive." Luna said, "Exactly." Ash began thinking to himself then he walked up to Luna. Ash asked, "Luna do you have time left to tell me about the first vision you showed us?" Luna looked at Ash and she answered, "I do have time left, but are you sure you want to hear it?" Ash replied, "I'm sure." Luna nodded then flew off deeper into the castle. Then she came back with the healer's medallion. She gave the medallion to Serena and explained, "Hold on to this with all you have. I'm going to send you two back to the shared dream because I don't think you would want to hear what I have to say to Ash." Scarlet and Serena nodded and Luna sent them back.

Luna turned to Ash and said, "Alright Ash, I'll tell you what the first vision meant." Ash listened as Luna pulled up the vision. Luna explained, "This man is known as Lysandre. He's the leader of a criminal organization that operates in Kalos. He too is extremely evil." Ash nodded and Luna continued, "Now in the vision Lysandre's plan is coming to reality and you will be at the heart of the situation. Lysandre is going to target you for a special bond you share with a certain pokemon that you actually have in your possession." Ash asked, "Which pokemon?" Luna showed him the pokemon and the pokemon was Greninja. Ash gasped, "Greninja?! But I don't have a Greninja!" Luna responded, "You have a Froakie don't you?" Ash replied, "Yeah, but what does that have to do with this?" Luna answered, "Ash Greninja is Froakie's final evolutionary stage, so technically speaking you do have a Greninja." Ash commented, "Oh, I see now."

Luna said, "Now you remember that you saw me in the arms of the trainer with black hair and a black jacket right?" Ash nodded. Luna explained, "His name is Alain. I've actually passed through one of his dreams before. He seems to be struggling a lot. He pushed away a close friend of his and her Chespin is in a coma as a result. It seems that he blames himself for what happened and is trying to make it up to his friend by finding away to wake up Chespin. It hurts me to see him like this." Ash commented, "Wow how can you trust him that quickly?" Luna continued, "I think you already know the answer to that. Moving on, now the reason I'm so weak at that point is because Lysandre tried to control me. But eventually I break free and I'm left exhausted and weak." Ash nodded once more. Luna replied, "Now, the last scene you saw was you being hit by a red beam of powerful energy. Lysandre is going to attempt to control you, Ash. And not just you Greninja too." Ash questioned, "But why?" Luna responded, "Like I said earlier, it's because of a special bond you'll share with Greninja. Now I'll give you more information about it when it starts happening, but I need to do some research on this bond for now." Ash nodded in understanding then he said, "I think I'm ready to go back now." Luna nodded and walked with Ash out of the castle.

Luna said, "Ash don't tell Serena, Scarlet, or any of your friends what I've told you. I don't want them to panic or worry about you. They'll try to prevent this from happening, but I must tell you that the event will happen and it needs to happen. The crisis will set the stage for Sombra's return. I'll give you permission to tell them about Lysandre and Alain, but nothing more than that." Ash replied, "Okay, I understand Luna." Then they returned to the shared dream.

Serena and Scarlet were waiting on them. When they appeared, Scarlet hugged her brother and Serena put her hand on his shoulder relieved to see him. Luna explained, "Now Ash and Scarlet, I've been searching for any signs of Sombra's return since we last spoke. It turns out that there's a dark corridor opening up somewhere in the Kalos region and shadows are escaping out of it. It seems that Sombra is aware of the prophecy and wants to stop it from coming true. This has been seen with Scarlet. One of Sombra's shadow-lings is responsible for Scarlet's recent concussion and her losing her memories. I also had to put a protection spell around your bodies so in case the shadows come in during the night, they wouldn't be able to harm you. I advise you all to be careful these shadows can come from anywhere." They all nodded and Luna telepathically said to Ash, "I'll keep an eye on Lysandre and let you know when the crisis is coming close." Luna then began getting ready to leave. She said to them, "We must part ways for now, but I'll alert you if I learn of anything else." Scarlet asked, "Where are you going Luna?" Luna answered with a blush, "I'm going to pay a certain trainer a visit." And with that Luna left and traveled to Alain's dream. She saw Alain was having the same dream as last time. Luna decided to step in and make contact with him. Alain turned around feeling a new presence within his dream. He saw Luna walking up to him. He felt his face heat up when she came closer. Luna said to him, "Hello Alain." Alain stared shocked. He didn't know how Luna knew his name, but he knew that if she was here she had something important to say. He now needed to be open to hear what she had to say. Little did he know that this would be the most life changing conversation he would ever have.


	7. Feelings and Dilemmas

Alain stared at Luna and said, "How do you know my name?" Luna replied, "When you've traveled through dreams as long as I have, it's easy to pick things up." Alain then understood and he watched as Luna changed his dream. Alain asked, "So why are you here?" Luna answered, "Well, I actually wanted to talk to you. It's clear to me that you seem to need someone to talk to." Alain inquired, "What do you mean by that?" Luna responded, "Seeming how you're still blaming yourself for Marin's Chespin falling into a coma, I figured I'd help you out a little."

Alain was at first shocked that she knew about his past, but then he remembered that she could travel through dreams. He figured that she must have traveled through his dreams once and found out about his mistake. Alain said, "I'll bet Marin is mad at me. I honestly won't blame her if she won't forgive me. Not after the way I've treated her." Luna replied, "Have you ever tried just talking to her? I'm sure she doesn't blame you for what you did." Alain responded, "What makes you so sure that she won't be mad at me?" Luna explained, "Alain your forgetting that I can travel through dreams. I've passed through one of Marin's dreams before. I also picked up her feelings in her dream. All she wants is to travel with you and to stay by your side. As long as you not hurt that is. Alain we all make mistakes. That's what makes us human. Even I've made mistakes in my time." Alain asked, "You have?" Luna answered, "Yes many times. But now that I'm older, I don't make them as often as I used too." Alain stayed silent, but gave Luna an understanding nod.

Alain and Luna talked for awhile. Then Alain questioned, "So why did you want to come into my dreams when it's so close to morning?" Luna hesitated before answering and replied, "Well, I've been receiving visions of a crisis that will threaten the entire Kalos region. This will set the stage for another event that is foretold in a prophecy I've received." Alain stared at her shocked and he responded, "What?! What do you mean!? A crisis?! Who's involved and Who's behind it?!" Luna scolded, "Alain, one question at a time please!" Alain looked down and whispered, "Sorry." Luna then explained, "The crisis is actually being planned by a group that operates here in Kalos. They call themselves 'Team Flare'." Alain exclaimed, "Team Flare?! They're planning to cause harm to people and pokemon?! They told me they were helping us!" Luna continued, "Let me finish please. Now as I was saying, Team Flare are going to use the legendary pokemon Zygarde to start the crisis. Zygarde, when enraged, is capable of creating vines to punish those that disrupt its order. In my vision, I saw Lumiose City covered and being destroyed by these vines. Devastation was everywhere. I could only cry when I first saw it, but it only gets worse from there." Then all of a sudden the wind began picking up. Alain became worried and asked, "What's going on?!" Luna answered, "You're waking up. We'll talk more tomorrow night." After Luna said these words, she transformed into an alicorn and flew towards the moon. She disappeared and Alain awakened.

Alain looked around the forest and saw his Charizard sleeping peacefully. He saw the sun was rising in the distance. Then he felt that his face was warm. He looked at his reflection in a nearby river. He found himself blushing. Many thoughts started to swirl quickly through him like a tornado. He thought to himself, _Am… Am I blushing?! Could I actually have a crush on Luna?! But that's insane! She's royalty and I'm just a common civilian! How can I possibly like her?! __There's no way we can be together!_ More and more of these thoughts entered Alain's mind and the only thing that saved him was Charizard nudging him. Alain turned to his concerned Charizard. Alain told his Charizard about Luna and how he felt about her. He also explained his dilemma about her being royalty. Charizard deep down wished it could offer advice to Alain, but only could nudge him to show its understanding. It was a small gesture, but the smile on Alain's face showed that he was grateful for it. Alain said, "Thanks Charizard, I needed that."

Later, Alain continued his journey and stopped near a small clearing and he set up camp for the night. He was actually looking forward to going to sleep that night. Alain found himself wanting to see Luna. When he fell asleep, he entered the dream realm. He turned to the moon and it started to glow. Luna flew out of a portal that appeared near the moon. Luna flew towards him then she paused. She transformed from alicorn to human. She landed a few feet away from him. When she landed, she turned around and walked towards him. As Luna got closer to him, Alain's heart rate began beating faster and he started to blush. Alain tried to hide his feelings from her, but the expression on her face only proved that she knew.

Alain was about to speak, but Luna put her finger on his lips and said, "Shh, don't speak. We have more urgent things to discuss. Like the Kalos crisis." Alain only replied by nodding his head. Luna explained, "You already know that this crisis involves Team Flare and Zygarde. You also know that it will take place in Lumiose City. Well there's more involved with this crisis. Like me for example." Alain asked, "You?! What do you mean, Luna?!" Luna answered, "I'm… Going to destroy world, Alain." Alain stared at her shocked, but before he could say anything Luna added, "Not by choice though. I'll be controlled and forced to do it against my will." As soon as Luna said this, he calmed down a little. But he became concerned for Luna. He walked forward to be closer to her and asked her the question "Why"? Luna responded, "I have a power that can be used two ways. There's not much of a right way to use it. The power I wield actually makes me a weapon that anyone can take advantage of." Alain became shocked again when she said that she was a weapon, but he didn't say anything. Luna continued, "There's other things I want to discuss, but I think it's best if we go someplace else."

She took him to her castle of dreams. Alain was in awe of the castle's beauty. Alain questioned, "Do you live here?" Luna contended, "No, I live in a temple that's hidden in the Kalos region. Only I can actually find it. I will come up here when there's a fated event of destruction that's destined to happen." Alain understood the rest and followed her to the pool of water at the center of the castle. Luna said, "Now we can talk more. There's three other people who will be at the heart of the situation along with me. You, Lysandre, and a fifteen year old boy. I know who this boy is and I fear for his life." Alain was shocked that his boss was involved, but even more shocked when he heard about the fifteen year old boy. Alain interrogated, "Why is Lysandre involved?! And why is this boy involved and who is he?" Luna replied, "Lysandre is the reason you're involved, Alain. I've known for awhile that Lysandre would plan to go to the extremes to achieve his goal. In all honesty, he doesn't have a bad goal. But he's going about it in the wrong way. Now I understand that you trust him and the reason you do is because he gave you your mega ring and mega stone. And if you're wondering how I know this, it's because I saw that bit when I passed through your dreams. Now I'm not going to tell you what I think of him. It's not my place to change your view of him, so I won't. I'll only tell you this much. I don't trust him. I'll let you believe what you want, but let me warn you. When you see the vision, you'll see everything that I despise about Lysandre. You may not believe what you see, but I won't blame you if that's the case." Alain spoke, "Luna, I've heard that you never lie. If that's true, then I'll believe what ever I see. But what about the boy you mentioned. What's his role in this?" Luna continued, "The boy goes by the name Ash Ketchum. He's very important to our world. He's a direct descendant of Sir Aaron, which makes him the only person to be able activate the defense mechanism. So he and his sister, Scarlet, are constantly by power hungry people."

Alain was shocked that Ash and his sister didn't have much of an easy life. He commented, "Sounds like he and his sister are always on their guard." Luna agreed, "Indeed, they can never really relax. But for right now everything is calm for them. The only thing on their minds right now are the crisis and prophecy, but I'm afraid Ash knows about the crisis and he knows his fate as well." Alain asked, "What's going to happen to him?" Luna hesitated and Alain could see how afraid she was for this boy. Luna finally answered, "Ash is….. Going to be held captive on top of prism tower." Alain was shocked and he questioned, "Why?" Luna responded, "Ash and his Froakie will share a special power when it becomes a Greninja. Lysandre will attempt to control him and he will suffer greatly. I wish there was a way for me to prevent this from happening, but no one can stop what is destined to happen. I do not wish for him to suffer, but there won't be anything I can do about it. I'm so afraid for his life. What hope does he have of resisting Lysandre?" At this point, tears were streaming down Luna's face. Alain walked up to her and hugged her and whispered, "Luna, please stop crying. Everything will be okay, I promise. Everything will work out for the best. Why are you so afraid for him? I'm sure he can handle himself." Luna retaliated, "It's not that I'm worried about. Ash and Scarlet have gone through so much in their past and they both have been traumatized by it. The last thing they need is to be involved in another crisis." Alain commented, "If you wouldn't mind me asking, what happened to them in their past?" Luna contended, "On Scarlet's third birthday, Ash was kidnapped by a group known as Team Nova. They did horrible things to him and he suffered so much pain. In fact, he almost died if Grace hadn't cared for him. Scarlet was left waiting till she was ten to go and find him. When she turned ten, she and her friend, Gary, left to go find him. They did manage to free him, but they were captured and Ash was nearly forced to activate the defense mechanism against his will. Luckily, they defeated Team Nova and they lived peacefully from then on. Until, Scarlet was kidnapped and Ash was left poisoned with nightmares and hallucinations. Like I said, 'They've gone through so much. And the last thing they need is to be involved in another crisis.'"

Alain was shocked and replied, "I had no idea. I can see why you're worried now." Luna said, "It's alright. I really shouldn't be worrying over this. Ash and Scarlet are strong. Even with a past like theirs, they're still looking on the positive side to life. People like Ash and Scarlet are hard to come by these days." She turned to face him and explained, "Alain, you and Ash's paths are destined to cross sometime in the future. If you see him worrying about the crisis, please try to help calm him down. He knows what's going to happen to him and I'm pretty sure that he'll be having nightmares about it. Before I go and help him, I need to show you the vision I saw." She turned towards the pool and showed him the vision. When Alain saw the vision, he was shocked and couldn't believe what he was seeing. When the vision was over, the first thing Alain did was hug Luna. Luna blushed, but she returned to embrace. She allowed him to release all of his emotions. After awhile, Alain was about to tell Luna how he felt about her. But Luna responded, "Alain, now is not the time where we should share our feelings. You're not far from my temple, so meet me in the village nearby and we'll talk there." Alain nodded and then the pool started to glow. Luna stirred the water and sure enough, Ash was having a nightmare. Luna turned to him and added, "Well I better take you back so I can help out Ash with this." Alain chuckled, "Well, thanks for telling me about this, Luna. Considering what I know now, I'm going to continue to do as Lysandre says. But I'll hide any evidence that I know about who he really is." Luna nodded and took Alain back to his dream. She then left, but not before giving him a kiss on his cheek.

Luna went into Ash's dream to calm his nightmare. Luna knew that Ash would suffer more of these nightmares, but she didn't mind at this point. Although she would need Scarlet and Serena to try to calm him down. Luna knew she would need to be prepared for Lysandre's strike on Lumiose City.


	8. Ash's Fears

Ash was in the gym at the school. Beside him was his newly, evolved Frogadier. Ash was now worried, because this meant that the crisis was getting closer. Serena and Scarlet were always trying to calm him down, but it never seemed to work. Luna had told him to try and live in the present and not worry about the future, but Ash couldn't stop thinking about the crisis. It was the only thing on his mind and everyone else was clueless about it. Frogadier was worried about Ash and it said, "Hey Ash, are you okay? You don't seem like yourself today." Ash replied, "No I'm not okay Frogadier. I don't even think I will be anytime soon." Then Pikachu came up and responded, "What's wrong Ash? You can tell us. We'll listen to what you have to say." Ash smiled and petted Pikachu. Then he explained, "Well, there's a crisis that's going to come to Kalos. And it will take place in Lumiose City. I don't know when it will happen and it's making me anxious about it, but it's not really the crisis itself that's making me extremely worried. It's our role in the crisis that's got me anxious." Frogadier asked, "What's our role?" Ash answered, "Well we'll be at the heart of the situation. We'll be held captive by a mad man who's behind the destruction. He'll try to control me and you, Frogadier. But it'll happen sometime after you evolve into Greninja." Pikachu questioned, "But why only you and Frogadier?" Ash contended, "Luna said something about a special power created by the bond me and Frogadier will have after it evolves into Greninja."

The two pokemon looked at their trainer with shock. But then Ash continued, "I'll be honest with you two. I'm not afraid of the crisis itself as Scarlet, Serena, and Luna think. The role we're meant to play in it however, it scares me to death just thinking about someone attempting to use us for their selfish desires. Even though I've been in that kind of situation before, this is different. What chance will we have of escaping? What chance will we have of resisting control?" Frogadier and Pikachu looked at each other. Pikachu then said, "Ash listen, I know that your afraid of doing something against your will. I understand that just as much as your sister does, but sometimes somethings like that happen and you can't do anything about it. There is hope though, you can trust that we and your friends wil help you get out of it. Ash you need to trust that everything will turn out okay." Ash turned to Pikachu and smiled, "Thanks Pikachu, I needed to hear that."

Serena and Scarlet came in. They had heard that Ash was still down in the dumps. They walked closer to see that his spirits were lifting. They climbed up the bleachers and sat down next to him on both sides. Scarlet said, "Hey Ash, are you okay? Gary told us that you were down in the dumps, so we came to check on you. But it seems that you're in a better mood now. How can that be?" Ash replied, "Yeah Scarlet, I'm fine now. I was talking to Frogadier and Pikachu about our role in the crisis." Serena gasped, "What do mean by that?" Ash responded, "I'm afraid I can't tell you. Luna told me not to tell you, or any of our friends. But I'll tell you this: The role I'll play in the crisis scares me to death just thinking about it." Serena was the first to respond. She whispered, "Oh Ash." She hugged him. She was comforting him. Ash returned the embrace by using one hand to hold her close. Scarlet then concluded, "So it was your role that was scaring you, not the crisis." Ash nodded and continued to hold Serena close to him. Scarlet put her hand on his shoulder and explained, "Ash, tonight I think you should talk to Luna about this. Because up until this point, the three of us thought that it was the crisis that was scaring you." Ash contended, "Okay I will and thanks Scarlet, and you too Serena. Also thank you Pikachu and Frogadier. Thank you for listening that conversation really helped me." Frogadier and Pikachu just hugged him to show that they'd always be there for him. Ash turned to Serena. They looked in each other's eyes and they came in close for a passionate kiss. When they broke, they all turned to leave the gym."

Meanwhile, Alain had just arrived in the village nearby the temple where Luna lived. He wandered around the place for a little bit. Then Luna showed up. They talked for awhile. Then Alain said, "Has Ash gotten any better?" Luna replied, "Last night no, but today he seems to be better. I'm going to go into his dreams tonight just in case." Alain asked, "Could I come? I'd like to meet him." Luna answered, "Actually you two need to meet in person first. Then you can enter his dreams with me." Alain was disappointed, but understood. They continued talking until it got late in the evening. Alain and Luna walked to the temple. When they arrived at the enchanted forest, Luna explained, "This is the enchanted forest. It was created by Xerneas and Zygarde to protect us from danger. The thick fog inside the forest acts like a portal. When you walk in, you end up on the other side of the forest. Luckily you're with me. These wolf prints will show the way, but I need to guide you. Only a dreamwalker can find the temple." Luna transformed into her wolf form. She walked ahead of him and guided him around the hidden traps. When they arrived at the temple, she transformed back into her human form.

Luna showed Alan to his room and said, "You get some sleep now, Alan. We'll talk more tomorrow." Alan asked, "Are you going to sleep too?" Luna replied, "No my job of eliminating nightmares keep me up all night." Alan understood and fell asleep. Luna crossed over into the dream realm. She traveled into Ash's dream. She found him waiting for her, but his dream was perfectly normal. Luna flew towards him and said, "Ash, what's going on? I felt that you were in a better mood today." Ash replied, "I had a chat with Pikachu and Frogadier today. It really helped me out a lot. I didn't think I needed it so much." Luna asked, "What did you talk about?" Ash responded, "I told them about the crisis and our role in it." Luna questioned, "I see and it seems you're calmer than last night. How is that possible?" Ash answered, "Well to be honest Luna, I'm not really afraid for the crisis. I mean sure not knowing when it will occur makes me really anxious, but the crisis itself isn't what I'm afraid of." Luna inquired, "Then tell me, Ash. What are you afraid of right now?" Ash explained, "I'm afraid of the role me and my pokemon will play in the crisis. The thought of Lysandre controlling me and attempting to force me to do something against my will. The thought of me suffering under his influence. It scares me to death just thinking about it." Luna gasped, "Oh, Ash. I had no idea that this was the problem. Ugh, now I feel stupid. I should've realized that this was bothering you." Ash continued, "I've been in a similar situation where I've been forced to do things against my will. I suffered so much pain under Team Nova. They nearly forced me to destroy the world by threatening to kill my sister, but I escaped them and she was okay. Luna, Lysandre may be more extreme than Team Nova. What chance do I have of resisting him. How will I be able to escape him?"

At this point, tears were streaming down his face. Luna pulled him into an embrace and she whispered, "Ash, I ask myself those same questions over and over in my head. I don't desire for you to suffer under Lysandre's influence, but we cannot change what is meant to be. Ash I worry about you every day for the very same reason that makes you afraid. I understand that you don't want to do something against your will. Believe me I've been there. Before I sealed myself away, selfish people tried to force me to destroy the world just like you. So I understand you perfectly. In fact, I think Scarlet would even understand this. She's been forced to steal weapons that would ultimately destroy you. So she would understand this situation." Ash asked, "Luna, tomorrow can I tell Scarlet and Serena about my role in the crisis?" Luna nodded, "Yes I believe that would be a great idea. It will help you to settle down more, but I don't want you telling the rest of your friends. They'll get over protective and protection is not what you need." Ash nodded in agreement. Ash thanked her and they parted ways.

Ash and Luna both knew that they would be in serious trouble and both would have to be ready to face it on their own. They both needed to be strong enough to overcome the obstacles in their path.


	9. Secrets, Suspicions, and Romance

It was the next day at school. Ash was in the gym training with his pokemon. He had been doing it for awhile now. Gary and the rest of the guys were concerned about him. Even when they tried to ask him what was going on, Ash would refused to answer them. In the middle of his training session, Ash took off his hat and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He put his hat back on and turned to see Serena and Scarlet walking into the gym. He turned to his pokemon and said, "Okay guys take a break for a bit. I'll be right back." Both pokemon nodded and they rested. Pikachu and Frogadier knew why Ash was training them so much. He wanted to be prepared for the upcoming crisis. Pikachu and Frogadier knew Ash's role in the crisis and they too were afraid for him. Serena and Scarlet visited with Gary and the others first. Ash sat down on the bleachers while they talked.

Serena said, "Hey guys what's up?" Gary replied, "Nothing much except for one thing..." Scarlet responded, "Gary what's going on?" Paul answered, "It's Ash. He's been training with his pokemon nonstop. He's been doing this since afternoon yesterday and it lasts well over three hours. We're getting really concerned about him." Serena and Scarlet fell silent for a few minutes and they looked at each other. Gary and the other guys began thinking they knew what was going on. Serena was about to speak, but Scarlet continued, "Well that's odd. Have you tried to ask him why he's training so much?" Barry contended, "Yeah we've all tried to talk to him and he ignored all of us. I'm gonna fine him for ignoring me." Once again Serena was about to say something, but Scarlet interrupted, "That's not like him at all. He wouldn't ignore any of you guys. You know what we'll go talk to him, but we'd rather do it alone if you don't mind." This only raised even more suspicion within the guys. Scarlet was cutting off Serena before she could say what she wanted to say and Scarlet wanting her and Serena to talk to her brother. They knew something was up, but Gary agreed to let them go speak to Ash alone.

When they left Gary whispered, "Is it just me or are Serena and Scarlet being secretive?" Paul nodded, "Yeah it's almost like they know something about what's going on." Serena and Scarlet noticed that their friends her becoming suspicious of them. Serena complained, "What was that all about?" Scarlet reasoned, "We can't tell them about the crisis and that Ash is involved in it. If they find out, there's no doubt that Paul is going to watch Ash twenty four hours a day. I don't want that for him. He doesn't need it." Serena then concluded, "Oh I see."

They both sat down next to him and he looked up. Ash said, "Serena, Scarlet, I've been meaning to speak with you." Scarlet and Serena listened to what he had to say. He explained to them his role in the upcoming crisis. He told them about how Lysandre, the man who'll be behind the crisis, would hold him hostage on the top of prism tower. He also explained that Lysandre would control him for a power he and Frogadier would have when Frogadier would become Greninja. Serena gasped aloud, "WHA-" Ash covered Serena's mouth because her gasp was so loud. Scarlet glanced back at the boys to see if they were looking. She saw that they were and there suspicions were growing. Scarlet whispered, "Let's go somewhere more private and discuss this. Gary and the other guys are on to us." Ash nodded, "Yeah let's go." Ash, Serena, and Scarlet left the gym quite quickly. Gary and the others didn't pursue them. Instead Gary confirmed, "Okay that's it Scarlet and Serena definitely know what's going on. They wouldn't be talking with Ash as quietly as possible if they didn't." All of the boys agreed with Gary. They all made a unanimous decision that they'd talk to their friends when they got back.

Meanwhile in a small storage room, Ash, Serena and Scarlet began talking freely in the storage room. Serena said, "Ash you can't really be serious about going along with this right? I mean you could be seriously hurt!" Ash replied, "This is why Luna and I refused to tell you. We knew you'd react this way. But Luna wants this to come to pass. She said this crisis would set the stage for Sombra's return." Scarlet then added, "And if the others found out, they'd try to prevent the crisis. But a crisis can't be prevented. All we can do is wait for it to come and hope everything turns out okay in the end. It's no wonder Luna was so afraid of us knowing about your role." Serena then took in a deep breath and finally calmed down then she nodded in agreement to Scarlet. Ash continued, "You both know that I'm afraid of doing something against my own will. I'm not really afraid of the crisis. It's Lysandre that I'm afraid of. I'm always wondering what he's capable of and how far he'll go just to get what he wants. What chance do I have against him? I'm so scared that I can barely focus on anything else." Scarlet walked up and put her hand on Ash's shoulder and explained, "I understand your feelings, Ash, I do. But the only thing we can do right now is, hope that things will work themselves out in the end. If you continue to worry about the crisis, you'll miss out on the moment of peace that we have now. Ash, you and I both know how strong we are when we're working together. But now, this crisis will definitely have us separated and there's nothing we can do about it. It's time that you and I to start relying on our own strengths instead of each other, because there will be times where we will be separated and we'll need to rely on ourselves to get out of our situation. It's time to let go of your fears Ash. I miss my always positive, brave, cheerful, loyal, determined, hard-working, and caring big brother." Scarlet gave Ash a sly look and he smiled.

Ash hugged his sister and said, "Thanks, Scarlet. I needed that." Ash turned to Serena and she replied, "Ash, I'll support you in any way I can. But the upcoming crisis scares me even more. I don't like that you'll be in danger and this Lysandre guy, he scares me too. But I know you'll make it through the crisis, because you are strong. We all will be fighting our battles in our own way during the crisis, but that doesn't mean we still can't be there for each other." Ash walked over to Serena. He pressed his hand to her face and leaned in. Serena didn't know what was going on until it happened… Ash kissed Serena right on her lips. Serena responded by putting her arms around him. When they broke, Serena blushed madly. Ash said with a smile, "Thank you Serena."

They began walking towards the door and Ash spoke, "One last thing, we can't tell Gary and the others about the crisis. They'll try to protect me and prevent the crisis." Scarlet and Serena both nodded. Serena replied, "Protection isn't what you need. And they can't possibly prevent the crisis. It's going to happen either way." Scarlet nodded and added, "Yes, but we can't hide this forever. Even Luna knows this. We have to tell Gary and the others at some point. Besides, I'd personally like to teach them a lesson if they dare try to watch you twenty-four-seven. The only people who get to protect you are your little sister, aka me, and your girlfriend." Both Ash and Serena blushed the instant she said that. Ash screamed, "Scarlet!" Scarlet laughed, "Oh come on! I don't ever get to tease you anymore! Besides you two already act like a couple." Ash and Serena both looked at each other embarrassed. Scarlet then continued, "Hey, I don't have any problems with you two dating. You two are already made for each other. I've been supporting it for a long time."

Ash, Serena, and Scarlet arrived back at the gym. When Scarlet saw that Gary and the others were still there, she paused and began freaking out a little. Ash asked, "Scarlet, are you okay?" Scarlet said in a whisper, "Shoot, shoot, shoot! Gary and the others are still here! What do we tell them?!" Ash replied, "We'll just tell them that I'm going through a lot." Serena argued, "Even if we tell them that, what are the chances that they'll believe us? They're on to us Ash. There's no way we can get them to believe us." Ash pondered this for a moment, but then an idea popped into his head. Ash said, "Scarlet remember the prank I pulled on you last week?" Scarlet responded with slight annoyance, "Yes I remember it very well." Ash explained, "Well you got so mad, I thought I was going to die. What if your protective sister instincts makes you mad enough to scare Gary and the others into believing us?" Scarlet thought it over and then she smiled. She exclaimed, "Oh this will be good. I'd love to see their faces." Serena warned, "Remember Scarlet, this isn't a prank." Scarlet nodded and they began walking towards Gary and the others.

Gary saw them walking up and he said, "So, what's going on with Ash?" Ash replied, "Look guys, I'm sorry I ignored you, but I'm going through a lot right now. So please give me some time and I'll fill you in on what's going on." Paul looked at Gary unconvinced by Ash's words. Gary continued, "I'm afraid we don't believe you. We know you're hiding something from us. So spill before we make you." Serena jumped in between them and exclaimed, "Ash gave you his answer! He has a right to keep to himself. Now leave him alone!" Gary and the other continued to try and push Ash into revealing the truth. Ash and Serena were both becoming nervous and pressured. Scarlet watched this go down and her protective instincts kicked in. She got very mad. Scarlet yelled, "HEY!" Gary and the others looked in Scarlet's direction only for their eyes to widen with terror. Ash and Serena looked at Scarlet whom was covered in red flames and her eyes had flames in them. Both Ash and Serena were having a hard time stifling their laughter at everyone's reactions. Scarlet continued, "You better leave my brother alone! He gave you his answer and he doesn't need to go into detail on what they are! So stop pushing him and just stick with what he told you! Otherwise you'll have to deal with me!" Gary stared at Paul and they and the other guys all agreed to leave Ash be. Gary said, "You know what we'll take your word for it. Well we better get going. See you guys around." They ran out of the gym and Ash and Serena burst out with laughter.

After school, Scarlet, Ash, and Serena began walking home. Scarlet then said to Ash, "Hey Ash, I think you might want to inform Luna about the others. We can't hide the crisis from them forever. We'll have to tell them sooner or later. Otherwise, they'll learn it the hard way." Ash nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Luna was showing Alan around her home. Alan was amazed by Luna's home. But when the tour was over, Alan remembered Ash. He asked, "So Luna, how's Ash doing today?" Luna answered, "He's doing better today, but I feel that he may want to talk to me sometime tonight. I think I know the subject of what he wants to talk about." Alan said, "What is it?" Luna replied, "Well, it starts with this: I told Ash that he could tell Serena and Scarlet about his role in the crisis, but I told him that he couldn't tell his friends. I'm fairly certain that Ash wants to tell his friends about the crisis." Alan questioned, "And that's a bad thing?" Luna continued, "It's not, but I'm more worried about what their reactions will be. I'm worried that they'll try to protect him or prevent the crisis from happening." Alan stated, "The only way they could possibly do that is if they go up and take down Lysandre, but that would be too dangerous. Also the protection part, I don't think Ash needs protection. From what you told me about him, Ash sounds like he can handle himself." Alan added, "Actually I think Scarlet would go nuts if they even tried to protect him."

Luna then thought it over then she laughed, "Yeah that sounds like something Scarlet would do. I've passed through her dreams before and this one dream really explained her personality. She was playing with Ash in the back yard and she managed to catch him. Then their other friends joined in, but Ash fell and hurt his knee. Gary found the scrape to be really severe and they helped him into the house. Then sometime passed and Scarlet and Ash began playing the same game again, but Gary immediately pulled Ash out of the game. Gary scolded Ash like his mom would do, but then Scarlet came in and she was mad. She scolded Gary for being so overprotective of her brother. I was surprised at how fast her protective sister instincts kicked in. I think you're right Alan. I'm just worrying too much. I think Scarlet will make sure that their other friends don't try to protect Ash." Relieved Alan said, "That's good, but I think that it's time for me to leave. Lysandre can't know that I've been talking to you." Luna nodded, "Yes, it's best that you move on. Lysandre cannot know that you've spoken with me and he cannot learn about Ash."

Luna escorted him out of the forest and they stopped at the tree line. Luna said, "This is where we must part ways, but I know that we will meet again before the crisis." Alan replied, "Before I go, I just want to say that you're the most amazing person I've ever met. I wish we could've gotten to know each other more." Luna agreed, "I do as well, but Lysandre mustn't grow suspicious. We have to keep our meeting a secret. On the other hand Alan, I must admit that I feel the same way about you." Alan looked at Luna with surprise. He didn't expect her to say that. He responded, "You mean you have..." Luna nodded, "Yes I do. And before you say 'I'm a princess and your a low life pokemon trainer,' I'm allowed to choose who I fall in love with. And that law doesn't specify to just the village. So don't worry about our place in society. Just focus on us as people because we're not as different as we may seem." Alan then smiled. Now he knew that his love for Luna wasn't a forbidden love. He embraced Luna with many heart-felt emotions. Luna returned the embrace and then they stared into each other's eyes. Luna then kissed Alan right on the lips. They broke a few minutes later. Alan said, "I should probably go now." Luna replied, "Let me give you something. I made this for you." She handed him a necklace that resembled a wolf. She continued, "This will allow me to find you when we decide we want to meet up again." Alan responded, "Thank you Luna, I'll treasure it always." Luna smiled and she watched him start walking down the path to the village nearby.

Alan began moving on to collect mega evolution energy, but he was only doing it to make it seem like he hadn't learned the truth about Lysandre. The reality was that Lysandre was evil and Alan knew. Luna had opened Alan's eyes to the truth. Alan knew that Luna's life was in danger and the lives of Ash and his friends. Alan made a promise to himself that he would protect Ash from Lysandre for as long as he could. Alan wasn't going to let Lysandre destroy the boy's life, world, and home.


	10. The Truth, Lysandre, and Luna's Fall

Ash woke up after his conversation with Luna. He looked over at his clock and saw how early it was. The raven-haired trainer saw that it was six in the morning. It was way earlier than he would normally wake up. Ash decided to get up and get ready for school. As he got ready, he began thinking back to his conversation with Luna. "Gary and the others are getting suspicious," Ash had said. "I know you said that I shouldn't tell them, but I can't hide this from them forever." Luna replied, "I know, which is why I'm going to let you tell them." Ash looked up surprised and responded, "Really, but why?" Luna continued, "One, they have a right to know what's going on. And two, I'm well aware that you can't hide this forever so I think telling them will do you some good. Besides keeping something this important can be quite a burden." Ash nodded his agreement. Then Ash asked, "So is it okay to tell them tomorrow?" Luna answered, "Yes, but I'll be there to help you tell them why you kept your role a secret." Ash had just finished getting ready for school. He went downstairs and made himself toast.

After he ate, Ash looked at the time. The raven-haired trainer decided to go to school early that day. He left the house and began walking to the school. When he arrived, the first thing he did was train. Then one of the trainers that usually arrived early, found Ash in the gym training his pokemon. The trainer asked Ash to battle with him. Ash agreed and the battle began. During the battle Ash's Frogadier evolved into Greninja. The battle was over when Greninja used water shuriken. The trainer left after the battle, but Ash stayed and trained. Gary and the others arrived later and they were not happy that they were tricked into believing Ash, Serena, and Scarlet. They were about to walk past the gym, but then they saw Ash and his pokemon in the gym. Gary and the others found it strange that Ash was there without Scarlet and Serena. Automatically they knew something was up, so they walked into the gym to ask him what was going on.

Meanwhile, Alan was walking by the school. He saw two girls walking towards the entrance to the school yard. He heard the honey blonde-haired girl say, "I can't believe that Ash left without telling us where he was going. I mean, seriously, how hard is it to wake somebody up and tell them what you're doing?" Hearing Ash's name got Alain's attention and he listened to the girls' conversation. The red-haired girl replied, "Well my brother probably had his reasons for not telling us. Besides Ash has always been secretive about his feelings. Before Team Nova attacked us, Ash was very quiet on my third birthday. I had asked him what was wrong and he told me that he felt like something bad would happen, but he dismissed the thought and wouldn't elaborate on it. He didn't want to bring me down on my birthday so he told me something else. I knew he was hiding his feelings from me, but I didn't really mind it at the time because he was right that we couldn't let his feelings keep us from enjoying my birthday. So, we just dismissed the conversation and the enjoyment of my birthday was short lived." When Alain heard the red-haired girl call Ash her "brother," he knew he had found the right place. But on the other hand, he didn't know whether or not that it was time to meet Ash. Then the honey blonde-haired girl's phone went off.

She looked at her phone and she said, "Oh, Gary and the others found Ash in the school gym and his Frogadier evolved." Hearing this made Alain aware that maybe it was the right time and he identified the red-haired girl as Scarlet. Scarlet then replied, "Guess that means Ash is one step closer to the crisis. I hope he's not going crazy because I hate seeing him like that." Then the honey blonde-haired girl's eyes went wide and she questioned, "Hey wait a minute, How did Gary get my number? I never told him my number." Then Scarlet answered, "Oh, uh, I may have given Gary your number and made him think it was mine." The girl asked, "Why did you do that?" Scarlet continued, "You know how Gary is, Serena. He's always hitting on me and trying to ask me out. I just got a phone a few days ago. I don't want him spamming my texts with cheesy pickup lines and questions on if I want to go on a date with him, which I don't by the way." Then Serena said, "Oh now I see why you did that." She busted out laughing. Then they walked through the entrance.

Alain watched them and he tried to follow them, but he hesitated. Then a voice spoke, "Go to him." Alain then recognized the voice as Luna. He followed Scarlet and Serena into the school yard. Serena noticed Alain following them and she got nervous, but Scarlet was distracted by a poster. She walked over to it. Serena followed and Scarlet said, "Look the school his hosting it's annual pokemon league. Do you think that we should sign Ash up for it?" Serena nodded, "Yeah it might help him keep his mind off the crisis." Scarlet wrote Ash's name down and then she turned around to see Alain standing a few feet behind them. Scarlet greeted, "Hello, who might you be?" Serena turned to see that Scarlet was talking to the guy that was following them. Alain walked up and replied, "I'm Alain." Serena then asked, "Why were you following us Alain?" Alain answered, "Sorry, I was looking for someone named Ash and thought you could take me to him, but I was too hesitant to ask." Scarlet continued, "That's alright. You can follow us. My brother is in the school gym, but the school is so big it's easy to get lost. We'll take you to my brother." Alain then pointed out, "Actually, I'm already aware that Ash is your brother." Then Scarlet questioned, "Really? How?" Alain contended, "I overheard you two talking about him and also Luna told me." Then Scarlet exclaimed, "Oh, I get it now. Alright let's go see Ash. Also Serena, don't be too hard on him for leaving the house and not telling us. Ash is going through a lot right now." Serena agreed, "Yeah, I'll let him off the hook just this once, but if he does it again he'll be in for it." Scarlet just laughed and walked on with Alain following them.

Back in the gym, Ash had just finished filling in his other friends on what was going on and Gary was the first to respond. Gary said, "What?! You can't be serious!" Ash didn't say anything, but the expression he had on his face told Gary that he was serious. Gary continued, "Ash, why didn't you tell us this sooner?! We could've helped you deal with this!" Paul added, "Yeah and we could help you stay out of harms way! You should've told us that this was the problem!" Ash then replied, "Guys, I know your angry and you have every right to be, but believe me when I say this: I wanted to tell you about the crisis and my role in it. It hurt me so bad that I had to keep it a secret from you guys." Barry then asked, "Then why did you keep it a secret when you could've told us anytime?" Ash answered, "Because someone told me not to tell you." Gary and the others then looked at each other. Then Paul questioned, "Who told you not to tell us about the crisis?" Ash was about to speak, but another voice responded, "I did." They all turned and saw Luna walking through a portal towards them. Paul gasped, "Luna?! You told Ash not to tell us?! Why?!" Luna explained, "Awhile ago, I received a prophecy and vision which told me that my old foe, King Sombra, was returning. Ash and a few others are involved in it, but I'll elaborate more about it later because now isn't the time to tell you. Anyway the upcoming crisis with Lysandre, it sets the stage for Sombra's return."

Paul said, "So why does it set the stage for his return?" Luna replied, "Because the seal that contains Sombra will weaken after a human-caused crisis occurs. So the Kalos crisis needs to happen. I know that's an awful thing to say, but the fact is that the crisis is going happen anyway. There's nothing anyone can do to prevent it." Gary was unconvinced that the crisis was unavoidable or unable to be prevented. Gary argued, "There's must be away to prevent it! We can't let Ash get hurt! He's been through enough already!" Luna looked Gary and responded, "I would've agreed with you Gary and gone off on my own to take care of Lysandre myself, but it would've been a reckless decision. I couldn't take him down even if I tried. I'm well aware that Ash has been through a lot and deserves to not have to deal with this, but we can't protect him twenty-four hours of everyday from this crisis. Protection isn't what Ash needs. What he needs is support rather than protection." The boys looked at each other and remained silent. Luna was right, but Gary wouldn't stand for it.

Gary repeated, "Still, there has to be someway to prevent it." Luna then said, "The only way you could possibly do that would be to take down Lysandre. Although, that would be a fool's errand." Barry asked, "Why exactly would it be a fool's errand?" Luna explained, "Lysandre is the head of Team Flare and he'll have really strong pokemon with him. He'll also be backed up by admins, grunts, and scientists. He'll also have weapons equipped with the latest technology. He's unstoppable, at least, for right now." Gary then replied, "Have you met Lysandre, Luna? You seem to know a lot about him." Luna nodded, "Yes, since my return, Lysandre has been trying to capture me. He's come extremely close to doing that very thing and that's saying a lot because I'm far from the easiest person to catch. Lysandre is highly intelligent and cunning. He's willing to go to the extremes just to get what he wants. I know you want to keep Ash safe, Gary. You want to give Ash a normal life, I get that, but that's impossible to do because of Ash's powers. So a normal life is never going to happen. Take it from me, I have many powers so I don't get much of a normal life either. Anyway please don't go after Lysandre, he's way too powerful for you to handle." Gary thinking over Luna's words finally agreed, "Okay we trust you, Luna."

Scarlet, Serena, and Alain walked into the gym. The girls saw their friends, but were surprised to see Luna among them. They ran over and Alain walked over. Ash saw Scarlet and Serena running over and in his head he said, _Great, now I'm in real trouble. _When they arrived, Scarlet said, "Hi Luna, what are you doing here?" Luna replied, "Helping your brother explain his role in the crisis." Then Scarlet responded, "Oh, so that's why he left so early." Then Serena walked into Ash's view. Ash became a little tense expecting to get and earful of yelling from her. When Serena saw Ash tense up, she explained, "Ash, I know you're expecting me to yell at you, but I'm not going to. I'm cutting you some slack. If you pull this stunt again, I won't let you off so easy." Scarlet chuckled. Then Scarlet explained, "By the way Ash, Serena and I signed you up for the school's annual pokemon league. We figured it would help keep your mind off the crisis and help you to get stronger." Ash replied, "Thanks little sis, and thank you as well Serena." Then Scarlet turned to the other boys and then said sternly, "So you know about the crisis? Well let me make one thing clear. If I catch any of you overprotecting my brother, you will not like me afterwards." Ash and Serena both chuckled.

Alain and Luna were talking among themselves while Ash and the others were laughing. Once they were done laughing, Luna turned to Scarlet and asked, "Scarlet do you know when and where this pokemon league will take place?" Scarlet then told Luna the date. Then Scarlet answered, "The poster also said that the pokemon league would be held in Lumiose City." Luna then turned to Alain and questioned, "You don't think…?" Alain nodded to her, "Yeah, it is something he would do." Ash and his friends became confused when Luna and Alain started to become very secretive. Luna was about to fill them in when she picked up a dangerous, yet familiar scent. Luna then turned in the direction of where the scent was coming from. Her expression changed very slowly as she watched for Team Flare. Then the wall of the gym was blown apart and Team Flare entered the gym. Ash and the others just watched in shock. Luna telepathically told Alain to get Ash and his friends to a safe distance. Then Lysandre made his appearance. Alain and the others hid behind the bleachers and they watched as Lysandre and the rest of Team Flare as they approached Luna.

Lysandre said, "Well hello Luna. It's about time you came out of hiding." Luna just grunted. Lysandre didn't expect Luna to say much, but that didn't matter to him. He turned to his head scientist and nodded to him. His head scientist then revealed a weapon. Lysandre reminded, "Remember, I want her unharmed." His head scientist nodded in response. He activated the weapon and the projectile sped towards Luna. Luna, seeing the projectile coming towards her, she reached towards her side and gripped the hilt of her sword. Waiting for the right moment, she swung her sword and deflected the projectile away from her. Everyone around her were amazed at her speed. Lysandre expected that she would pull something like that off. So he tried other strategies that would distract Luna from his main plan. He sent his grunts and admins after her and they fired multiple weapons and chains. Luna sheathed her sword, then she raised her hands as the grunts and admins approached. The admins and grunts had their pokemon drawn. They ran towards her at full speed. Luna once more waited for the right moment to strike. When they got close enough, Luna stated to move her hands and legs in a strange pattern. It was like she was performing a form of martial arts. They noticed that she wasn't physically attacking them. She stayed at a distance, yet the grunts and admins were being affected by her movements. Ash and his friends watched as the admins and grunts moved around erratically. Scarlet said, "It's like they don't have any control over their bodies. It's scary to look at." Alain explained, "Luna's controlling them. I don't know how, but she's manipulating their bodies to bend to her will. They're moving to the same movements she's making. Even though their minds still work with the grunts and admins, Luna controls their bodies. And thus, she's forcing her will over theirs. How Luna is pulling this off? I don't know. If she makes it out of this, I'll ask." Serena suddenly spoke, "Don't say that! Luna will make it out of this! She has too!" Everyone nodded in agreement with Serena. Even Alain agreed with her.

In Luna's mind she thought, _Lysandre, what are you up to? Why are you using these same tactics from each time we've fought. You know that it won't work. So why do you keep using them? _Then Luna found her answer. _Are you trying to distract me? Have you found a way past my defenses? __Or have you found one of my weaknesses? Just what is your plan to take me down?_ Luna then brought down the final blow. She tightened the muscles in her hands and fingers and increased the pain the that grunts and admins were in. When she finally eased up, they passed out and fell unconscious. In her head she said, _Blood bending really unsettles me. Normally I don't use it, but I had no other choice this time._ Meanwhile, a grunt reported through an ear piece in Lysandre's ear. He informed, "Boss the trap is set. Luna won't see this one coming." Lysandre replied, "Good. Let's get started shall we?"

Lysandre ordered, "Everyone fallback behind me! Now!" The remaining grunts and admins fell back behind their leader. Luna was surprised by this. Luna spoke, "Well this is getting interesting. It's not like you to just stop attacking, Lysandre." This time Lysandre was the one who remained silent. Luna got suspicious, but she didn't speak anything more. Then Lysandre revealed a captured Zygarde core to her. Luna's eyes grew wide. Shock and anger quickly filled them. Luna lost all sense of reason and ran forward in a head on charge. Lysandre waited for the right moment. Then Luna stepped into the area where the trap was set. Then Lysandre yelled, "Now!" The trap was activated and Luna watched as a purple gas was sprayed out around her. Luna let out a scream before she was enveloped in the purple gas. Lysandre then walked over to Luna.

Luna's thoughts raced through her mind as she entered a state of panic. She said to herself, _Dragon Root?! How?! How did he know?! How did he know that I'm vulnerable to Dragon Root?!_ Outside her thoughts Luna coughed, hacked, and choked as she continued to inhale the toxins of the dragon root. Luna then thought to herself, _I need to get out of here. The more I continue to breathe this stuff in, the stronger its effects become. How could I have been so foolish?! I ran in with a head on charge driven by my emotions! I completely left behind my sense of logic! But then again, Lysandre had this well planned out. He put two of my weaknesses against me. He put me in a state of anger and lured me into a perfect trap. I've lost this fight. I knew Lysandre would've improved his __strategies, but I never expected this. _Luna, outside her thoughts, ran out of the dragon root. She went back the way she came. Ash and his friends watched as Luna was gripping the area around her heart and lungs. She coughed more. Luna turned to see Lysandre approaching her. In her thoughts she said, _Lysandre, you are an adversary worthy of my respect. I'll admit it to myself that you have beaten me, but don't think for a second that I'll admit it to you. _Luna fought and struggled against the effects of the dragon root, however, she knew she wouldn't win. She tried to keep herself standing, then Lysandre stood right next to her. Then Luna used the remaining bits of her strength to speak. She asked, "How did you know?!" Then Lysandre tossed a book in front of her. He answered, "I've been reading your legend." Luna's eyes widened and shock and fear filled them. Luna staggered as she continued to fight the effects of the dragon root, but her body failed her. She collapsed and fell unconscious to the dragon root. Ash and his friends watched helplessly as Luna was taken captive by Team Flare.

After Team Flare left, Ash and everyone came out of hiding. Scarlet then said, "Poor Luna, she put up a really good fight against them. But in the end, she lost. Now she'll be held hostage against that mad man." Everyone couldn't help but wish they could've done something to help her. But even they knew that their efforts would've been useless. They had to accept the facts that Luna had been captured. Alain was determined to head back to headquarters and talk to Luna. He was going to make sure Lysandre didn't hurt her. Ash didn't really get a good look at Lysandre, so he didn't know what he looked like, but he vowed he wouldn't let Lysandre use him for his evil schemes. The battle against Lysandre and Team Flare was getting ready to begin.


	11. Captivity Danger Nears

Somewhere along the coastline of Kalos in a secluded area, stood Lysandre Labs. The secret base of Team Flare. Alain arrived at the base on orders from Lysandre. He entered the research facility and Celosia came to greet him. Then she took him to Lysandre and Alain hoped that the reason Lysandre called him was to show him Luna. When they arrived, Lysandre turned to face Alain and he greeted, "Welcome back Alain. I'm glad that you could make it back." Alain pretended to not know why he was their and he replied, "So did you call me here? If you don't mind me asking." Lysandre answered, "I wanted to show you something." He gestured over to the glass window he was standing by. Alain walked up and looked out the glass window. He gasped in shock when he saw Luna. She was in chains and they bound her to the floor. Alain was careful about showing too much emotion as he look at Luna. Then he saw a girl he recognized walking up to Luna. Alain questioned, "Is that Marin?" Lysandre nodded, "Yes, Luna is refusing to take the antidote for the dragon root so I asked Marin to convince her to take the antidote."

Alain then asked, "May I talk to Luna?" Lysandre looked at Alain and a sly smile formed. He knew Alain was going to ask this. Lysandre then agreed, "Very well. Do go and talk to her." Alain grew nervous at Lysandre's sly smile. Then he realized that Lysandre might know that he and Luna have talked before. Thus, Lysandre knew he would ask to talk to her. Alain nodded his thanks and went to see Marin and Luna. With the idea that Lysandre might be suspicious of him, Alain knew he'd have to be careful when talking to Luna. When he entered Luna's prison, Marin had already reached Luna and was talking to her.

Marin pleaded, "Luna please you need to drink the antidote. You won't recover if you don't!" Luna turned to Marin and laid a weak hand on her cheek. Luna smiled and said, "Thank you, Marin, You're a sweet girl, but the dragon root antidote won't work on me." Marin asked, "Why not?" Luna explained, "I react differently to dragon root. In plant form, dragon root affects only dragons. It makes them go crazy and fight each other. In liquid form, dragon root is used on arrows and one hit can make dragons fall out of the sky. Humans on the other hand are just put to sleep, but dragons are also put to sleep this way. In gas form, dragon root can put humans and dragon to sleep. I, however, am vulnerable to both the liquid form and gas form of dragon root. Since I have a human and a dragon form, my vulnerability to it is double than what it should be. The dragon root antidote is used to reverse the effect of dragon root in liquid form when the dragon are exposed to it. In gas form, dragons just wake up naturally like humans. My immune system, however, doesn't work that way. My body structure can change shape when I transform in to another form. There's also magic involved, but the point is that I can't be treated using the antidote like dragons can. I also can't recover quickly like humans can. For me to be cured of the effects of dragon root, their needs to be a magical component mixed in. Look in my bag and pull out one of the vials you see." Marin did as Luna asked. She pulled out a vial and she gave it to Luna. Luna opened the vial and drank the liquid inside it. A green aura flowed around her and she was cured of the dragon root.

Luna rose into a sitting position, but when she looked up, she became shocked at who she saw. Alain. Marin confused looked to where Luna was looking and she saw Alain. She ran up with excitement and she called, "Alain!" She hugged him and Alain patted her on the head. Then he approached Luna. Luna in almost a state of panic questioned, "Alain?! What are you-" Luna's question was cut short when Alain put his hand over her mouth. Marin a little scared by Alain's sudden action asked, "Alain?! What are you doing?!" Then Alain removed his hand and then he whispered something in Luna's ear. Luna's expression changed from fear to anger. She then nodded, "Yes I can do that." She then reached out to their minds to talk on a telepathic level so Lysandre couldn't hear them. Luna then informed, "Alright, now we can talk freely without worrying about Lysandre hearing everything we're saying."

Marin was confused and she asked, "Why do we need to worry about Lysandre hearing what we're saying?" Luna looked at Marin and then back at Alain. Luna responded, "Should we tell her?" Alain nodded, "She has a right to know." Luna agreed then turned to Marin and answered, "Marin, Lysandre isn't who you think he is." Marin looked at Luna confused and then Luna elaborated, "Lysandre does want to make the world a better place, and I would call it a "noble cause" if he wasn't going about it in the wrong way. Lysandre thinks he can make the world a better place by destroying the world." Marin gasped, "What?!" Luna continued, "Lysandre thinks that by reducing the number of beings on the planet will bring about world peace. In all honesty, if he had approached me with this view during my younger days, I would've agreed with him and helped him in a heartbeat. I once didn't trust humans and would've done anything to destroy them, however, someone actually managed to change my view point on humans. So now that I understand humans a little better, I don't agree with Lysandre's view on world peace." Marin, understanding what Luna was saying, relieved herself of her shocked expression. She then inquired, "So Lysandre is a bad guy?" Luna explained, "I don't think he's bad. I think he's just confused or has a misconception about the world. He just needs someone to show him the truth." Alain nodded his head in agreement then he said, "So Luna, I have a question that's been bugging me for awhile. How in the world were you able to control the bodies of the Team Flare grunts?" Then Luna laughed, "Oh well, I have a technique called 'Blood bending' and it allows me to enforce my will over another's. Blood bending is a rare water bending skill. You bend the water inside of another body. I usually don't resort to Blood bending, but if a bunch of enemies are coming at me all at once then there's a chance I will do it."

They continued to discussing other things until Luna got serious and she asked, "Alain, why are you really here? You're not trying to get me out are you?" Alain replied, "And risk Lysandre finding out what I know about him and learning that we talked to each other before?! I'm not that dumb Luna! No I'm not going to get you out. As much as I want to, it's way too risky." Luna sighed in relief. Marin said, "But Luna, don't you want to get out of here? You don't deserve to be locked up in here." Luna looked at Marin with surprise at what she just said. Luna then smiled at Marin and laid a hand on her shoulder. Luna responded, "Marin, I want to get out of here more than anything, however, Lysandre won't let me go that easily." After awhile, Luna noticed Lysandre was getting ready to come down. Luna warned, "We need to stop now. Lysandre is on his way down." Alain hugged Luna and said, "Keep fighting Luna. Don't ever let Lysandre break you." Luna replied, "I won't, but I can only fight for so long. Lysandre will find a way to take over and I might end up powerless to stop it. But for now I'll keep fighting. Also, Alain, maybe it's better if we don't see each other anymore. We can't risk Lysandre knowing about our previous discussions." Alain nodded in agreement. Luna turned to Marin and continued, "This goes for you as well Marin." Marin then confessed, "But Lysandre has asked to take care of you from now on." Luna then knew this would be a problem. Luna then explained, "Then be careful of what you say and what emotions you show around Lysandre. Now that you know the truth, you must pretend that you don't know anything about who Lysandre really is." Marin nodded, "I'll be careful Luna." Luna smiled then she responded, "Now go, both of you. And farewell until we meet again."

Alain and Marin walked out right before Lysandre walked in. Alain went back to gather mega evolution energy, and Marin went back to watching over her precious Chespin. Days went by and Marin continued looking after Luna. When Marin went to see Luna, she always found her in pain and barely able to move. Marin hated to see Luna like that and she even wondered what Lysandre was doing to make her end up the way she was. Alain often called in to see how Luna was doing. They often spoke in code in case Lysandre was listening. Alain was often horrified when he learned of Luna's condition. Alain wanted so badly to help Luna escape, but he knew he couldn't. Alain visited with Ash and his friends and informed them on what he knew about Luna's condition and explained a few of her powers to them. But time was running out. The Kalos League was on the way. Lysandre was going to execute his plan while all eyes were on the league. Ash knew the crisis was on it's way and he knew that the league would help him to better prepare him for it, but there were things he knew he wouldn't be ready for. Ash knew he had to expect the unexpected. He just hoped he would make it out of the crisis in one piece.


End file.
